words left unsaid
by crystalchaser
Summary: She considered him as one of her worse nigtmares. He had always put her in trouble and make her day as miserable as possible. In short, she hated him. But what if she founds out that he was only doing those things just to get her attention? SasuSaku
1. The new students

**A/N: **Hi! I'm back with another fanfic. Hehe. Hope you'll like it. This story will prove that first impressions never last and the saying that 'the more you hate, the more you love.' Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter one: The new students**

"Have you heard? We have two new classmates!" uttered a girl with blonde hair and cerulean eyes named Ino. "They're from Sound high, right? I bet they're cute!" Ten-ten, a girl with chocolate brown hair, added. Girls started squeaking and shouting when they heard the said girl's statement. "Can't you two keep quiet? You're starting a mess again! And Kakashi-sensei might hear us!" a girl with pink hair and emerald eyes stated as she gripped her book tightly. "We aren't at the library, Sak. Don't be too serious!" Ino answered as she sat down next to her. "It's not that Ino-pig. I mean, why are you giggling at you don't know or even seen yet?" Sakura asked.

Her question was left hanging when their instructor, Kakashi, entered the room along with two boys. "Talk to you later, Sak," Ino told Sakura as he hastily went to her seat.

When everybody was already seated, Kakashi began to speak. "Class, I want you to meet your new classmates, Uchiha Sasuke and Hayashi Sai. They're both from Sound high," he uttered. Kakashi looked at his class. Most of the girls were giggling and whispering at each other. Some would even fix their navy blue coat and skirt (which was a few inches above their knees) uniform then wink at either Sasuke or Sai. On the other hand, the boys had a plain and blank expression. _'Tsk, tsk. Girls these days,' _he thought.

"Uhm, please introduce yourselves to the class," Kakashi uttered behind his mask. "You already introduced us, sensei," Sasuke uttered in a low voice as he looked down, hands on his pockets. All the people in the room, including Sakura, turned their attention to Sasuke. "Hmph, just what I've thought, Sound students," she whispered then returned to the book she was reading.

"Err, right. Well, tell something about yourselves then. Your hobbies and the things you are good at. Let's start with Sai." The said boy nodded. He smiled at his classmates before he began which made some of the girls squeak louder. "Uhm, I play soccer and basketball. I'm formerly part of our basketball team at Sound high and I also play the guitar," he uttered in a friendly tone.

Sakura, once again, raised her head by the said boy's statement. She looked at him with amazement and shock. _'He's different. I never thought people from Sound could be this friendly. And..well, a little bit good looking, I guess.' _She blushed at the thought and tried to hide it by covering her face with the book she was reading earlier.

"Okay, what about you, Sasuke?" Kakashi uttered. Sasuke's head was still lowered as he spoke in a clear but low voice. "I play basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, swimming, and all other sports you know." All the boys in class had their jaws dropped while the girls started shouting and calling out Sasuke's name.

"Sasuke-kun, you're so cool!"

"Oh my God, did you see that? He stared at me!"

Some girls even started to faint. As for Sakura, she became more irritated at the said boy. So what if he looks good or plays lots of sports? For her, he was still an ugly, drooling troll.

"I also know how to play the guitar, piano, violin, drums, and other instruments. Well, in short, I am good at all things," he raised his head then smirked which created a roaring sound in the room which were the shouts and screams of the whole class, except for Sakura, of course.

"Okay, uhm, if you don't have anything to add—" Kakashi wasn't able to finish his statement when a boy with wide eyebrows named Lee stood up. "I have a question. Are you two twins?" This question shocked the whole class. The room became silent for the first time. Sasuke's eye twitched while Sai smirked. "No, we aren't," Sai answered coolly. "Obviously, Mr. good-for-nothing geek, we don't have the same family name, which makes sense, right? Except if you don't have any sense at all," Sasuke in an insulting yet calm and relaxed tone.

Lee clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth at Sasuke's statement. Sasuke saw this then smirked, "Asshole," he whispered. Lee had had enough, he sprinted towards Sasuke's direction, his hands ready to hit him. Good thing Kakashi caught his hand before he could do so. Lee looked at the silver-haired man, and with a simple stare, Lee nodded and returned to his seat, trembling because of anger and fear.

"Alright now, Sai take the seat next to Ms. Haruno near the window. Sasuke, sit next to Ms. Hyuuga, just infront of Ms. Haruno." The two obliged and went to their seats. "Now, copy the course syllabus that I'm about to write at the board." Kakashi picked a piece of chalk then started writing

While everybody was busy copying, Sakura kept turning on her seat, looking perturbed. "Where is it? I remember putting my notebook inside my bag earlier. I can't lose it, I wrote my class schedule there." She moaned as she scratched the back of her head. "Excuse me, is this yours?" her seatmate, Sai, whispered as he held a light blue colored notebook. "Yes, that's mine, thank you. Where did you find it?" she asked kindly as she took it from his hands and started to copy also. "it was under my desk. Maybe you'd dropped it earlier," he answered as he continued his work.

"I'm Sai by the way," he added as he looked (or stared!) at Sakura. The pink haired girl stopped writing then turned to him. "Yes, I already know. And I can surmise that you already have an instant fan club over there," she uttered as she pointed towards the direction of a purple eyed girl named Kasumi. She was giggling with two other girls whom Sakura barely knew. Sai looked at the direction that Sakura had just pointed to him. Sai smirked, "Oh them," he uttered then shook his head as his lips held a smile. "What about you, what's your name?" he asked, as if to staying away from the former topic. "Oh, and I guess you're going to ask my number afterwards, huh?" Sakura sarcastically stated.

Sai smiled at her then fixed his hair with his fingers. "Not really. I just want to know you better. Well, I guess you're different. You're not like them," he stated as he turned to Kasumi who kept fixing her hair and applying bloody red lipstick on her dry lips. "Why did you say so?" Sakura asked but didn't look at him. "Well," he uttered, "You're not part of my so-called _fan club. _Or maybe, just not yet." Sakura slightly laughed at his statement.

She had to admit, in such a short time, she already liked this guy. He was sort of an extrovert and an outgoing person, but not to bias nor to proud of himself. "Alright then. I'm Haruno Sakura," she finally stated. Sai stretched out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Sakura," he uttered as they shook hands.

"Hn. Pathetic little lovebirds," Sasuke whispered. He was listening the conversation of the two since he sat down and for him, was very pathetic and immature. "Like you aren't," Sakura answered back as she continued to copy. Sakura, obviously was on top of their class. Though she's such a walking encyclopedia, she still knows how to socialize with others and knows when to fight back. "Look who's talking, forehead girl," Sasuke uttered coolly. But Sakura was used to being called _'forehead girl' _so it wasn't that insulting anymore when she hears it. In fact, she considers it her nickname since she was a child.

"Oh, so you won't stop? Bet you can't even spell synecdoche right, huh?" Sakura uttered with an insulting smirk carved on her lips. Sasuke gritted his teeth, "Watch your words, Haruno," he uttered as he turned around to face her. Hinata, who was sitting beside Sasuke, was now trembling much more than she used to. The white eyed girl gestured for Sakura to stop before things get worse.

"Uchiha," Sai called out with a low and serious tone. "Not here, Sasuke," he continued. Sasuke glared at him then turned his back to them. Sakura sighed, "Thanks, that Uchiha kind of scared the hell out of me," she whispered. The said boy nodded in reply.

The bell rang which signaled the end of class. "Alright, class dismissed," Kakashi uttered as students simultaneously stood and went out of the room. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then," Sai stated as he stood and grabbed his things. "Yeah, I guess," Sakura said in reply. She waved at him as he went out of the room.

"SAKURA!" Ino shouted hysterically as she approached her, Ten-ten and Hinata following her. The pink haired girl arranged her things and put them inside her sling bag. "What?" she hissed then shot a death glare at her three friends. They all kept quiet when they saw Sakura's unpleasant reaction. "What's the matter? You look so … pissed off," Ten- ten asked her timidly then sat next to her pink haired friend.

Sakura slammed her bag on top of her desk which made Ten-ten jump off her seat while Ino gave a loud, glass breaking scream. "Curse that Uchiha!" Sakura uttered the crossed her arms as she blew her bangs away from her eyes. "Sasuke! Uchiha Sasuke! I would have fainted if he talked or even looked at me!" Ino exclaimed then rested her chin on her hands as she dreamily thought of the said boy. "Sai's more cute and approachable. And you're so lucky to have him as a seatmate, Sakura," Ten- ten said, as if contradicting Ino's statement earlier.

But the opinions of her two colleagues didn't help that much. Sakura was still fusing with anger and rage. Suddenly, Hinata's small and soft voice was heard. "Uhm, but they almost look the same…I mean, like…….the same hair and…..eye color. And they're both talented, Neji told me that….that they were both on top of their class at Sound high."

"Hey, Hinata's right. They're rivals in almost everything! Hmm….even for Sakura!" Ten-ten exclaimed. Sakura punched her in the arm when she heard her. "Ouch! I was just joking, Sak," Ten-ten uttered as she held her aching arm.

Sakura stood and put on her glasses. She doesn't look like a nerd or even a geek when she wears them. It even made her look more sophisticated and witty, which make her rivals more envious and guys more amazed. "Shrug off that topic, will you? I'm hungry let's all go to the cafeteria," she uttered then grabbed her sling bag. Her three friends obliged as they all exited the room.

As they trudged off, Sakura was still thinking of the new students she had just met a while ago. Hinata had a point there, they were very much alike—with the things they have and the things can do. She would have agreed on Lee's statement that they were twins but even though they are similar in many things, for her, they were still the complete opposite of each other.

**A/N: **bwah! At last, I finished typing this chapter. I didn't have time, sorry. hehe. I was at Metro Manila for about three weeks. I didn't have that much time to type and post my stories. But I hope you enjoyed this story. Please feel free to correct any grammatical errors. hehe


	2. First Day fight

**A/N: **hello there! Sorry for the delay of my stories. I'm having a hard time remembering them, hehe.

**Discalimer: **If I owned Naruto, it woudn't be entitled Naruto. It will be called SASUKE.hahaha!

**WORDS LEFT UNSAID**

**Chapter two: First day fight**

"I still can't believe you hate Uchiha. I mean, maybe he was just joking, Sak," Ino uttered as they trudged off to the cafeteria.

As the four walked together in one file, others, especially the boys, can't help looking at them. Four extremely different girls with different attitudes get along so well with each other.

Hinata is known to be the timid little girl of the group. You can only hear her speak maybe once or twice a day. She's said to be the scaredy-cat among the four. But don't get her wrong. This prim girl can get pretty tough sometimes. Just don't go messing up her hair and hooking up with Naruto and you will be just fine.

Ten-ten is the sporty type of girl. She's ready for any adventure. A very outgoing and bubbly girl, Ten-ten doesn't like to be bossed around by somebody. She knows her priorities so don't mind bugging her to do something. Just treat her fair and square and everything will be..er..safe.hehe.

Next is the glamour girl, Ino. When it comes to fashion updates and beauty secrets, nobody's better than this girl. Living as a princess seems just another dream to many but for her, it's just an ordinary day shopping. But besides her glamorous life, she knows how to hang around and socialize with other people. She doesn't mind if you're from this family having a little income. For her, it's what inside of a person that matters.

Finally, there's Sakura. The prettiest smarty- pants everyone has ever seen. Not too nerdy, not too sexy, just a girl- next- door type whose kind and tough at the same time. But unlike Ino and Ten-ten who often goes boy hunting, Sakura thinks boys are a waste of time. "Rubbish," that's what she usually says.

Together, they comprise the most intimate friendship their school had ever seen. "Can we drop that subject? It's already annoying," Sakura uttered as she avoided the glares of the girls who'd heard what Ino had just stated. "Maybe we should talk about something else as we go to the cafeteria, before an angry mob chases us," Ten- ten whispered but loud enough for her two friends to hear as she also noticed the eyes of Sasuke's admirers already aiming fiery arrows at them.

At the other corridor, also going straight to the school cafeteria, Sasuke with his friend Gaara who is also formerly from Sound High walked quietly. Though neither of them spoke, they were the center of attention of every one. As they passed through groups of students, Sasuke would smirk as he would see them whispering and looking at their way.

"Aren't you used to being looked at like that?" Gaara sudden;y asked. Sasuke, his head lowered and hands in his pocket, smiled a bit. "Of course I am. Maybe they're the ones who aren't used to seeing me?" Sasuke uttered sarcastically. It was Gaara's turn to smirk. "You didn't change a bit, Sasuke."

As they entered the cafeteria, all eyes turned to them once more as the place became quiet. 'Hn," Sasuke uttered. They went straight to get their food and joined the line of students when somebody bumped them, which resulted to a sound of clattering plates which were falling to the ground.

"Hey! Watch were you're—"the girl wasn't able to finish her statement as she raised her head and saw Sasuke and Gaara. "Tsk, tsk. Look who we have here," Gaara uttered with a smile in his lips. The girl, unfortunately, was Sakura. She was dumbfounded as she saw who it was. She tried to speak, but it seems that she had lost her voice. She tried to runaway her feet felt stiff like it was glued to the floor.

Sasuke then raised his head as he enjoyed the horrified look on Sakura's face. "As you were saying, Haruno?" he uttered coolly. Sakura, who was still holding her empty tray, didn't answer back. Instead, she tried to look for her friends to help her. There they were, in a table near the door. All of them looked terrified. She didn't know what to do.

"Want a drink, Sasuke?" Gaara uttered as he handed him some soda. "While you have a little chat with Haruno." Sasuke nodded and took the drink. The place was quiet as all the students were staring at them. Sasuke sipped some soda. "Want some, Haruno?" he asked as he offered the drink. Sakura was still speechless as her eyes made contact with the boy's onyx orbs. She felt her stomach somersaulting as she stared at him. _'Weird,' _she thought.

Sasuke smirked, "Have it your way then," he uttered as he placed the soda a few inches above her head and poured it at Sakura. The whole room roared in laughter, except for Sakura's three friends. Even Sasuke and Gaara were laughing so hard that they held their stomach as their eyes started to water. Sakura just closed her eyes as she felt the cold, sticky liquid wet her uniform and skin. When she opened her eyes, she saw the two boys laughing at her. She became furious. Nobody could ever humiliate her, not even Uchiha Sasuke.

She approached the said boy, her fist clenched as she gritted her teeth. Sasuke seemed to notice her approaching so he stopped laughing and faced her. Sakura stopped right in front of him, smiled sweetly, held him in his shoulders, and…BAM!! She kicked him in the right spot, not missing the target. Sasuke felt the pain crawl throughout his body that he shouted so loud. Sakura held her skirt and took a bow as she joined her friends, leaving the cafeteria outrageously laughing at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at the retreating back of Sakura, still amazed and shocked of what Sakura had just done. "C'mmon Sasuke, let's leave this junk," Gaara uttered as he helped him stand. _'She's one of a kind. That Haruno,'_ Sasuke thought as they exited the hall.

XxxXxxXxxX

**A/N: **Well, that's it. Hope you liked it. Updates of my other stories will be posted soon. Hehe. It's our semestral break so I hope that I could catch up with my stories. 'till next time then, ja!


	3. Detention

**A/N: **I can't think of any way for Sasuke and Sakura to talk to each other so I thought of using one scene in a Filipino drama I've watch when I was a kid. And I think it fits a bit well in this story. Hehe. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**WORDS LEFT UNSAID**

**CHAPTER THREE: Detention**

_Sixty seconds…_

"The kinetic force of friction,"

_Fifty…_

"..Must be equal or,"

_Forty…_

"…proportional to the,"

_Thirty…_

"..Centripetal force applied,"

_Twenty…_

"In an object for it,"

_Fifteen_

"Not to,"

_Five…_

"Skid."

"End of the day!" Sakura shouted as they were dismissed by their Physics instructor, Iruka. "Why are you so glad to go home?" Ino asked as they exited the room. Sakura jumped and leapt as they walked and held her books tight on her chest. "'cause I'm going to be relieved with the stress at last!" she said, closing her eyes, as if in delight. "Er..But it's just the first day, Sak. What do you mean relieved?" Hinata asked as she played with her fingers.

"Yes, Haruno Sakura. What do you mean relieved?" a familiar voice of a female uttered from behind. The four of them slowly turned around with a shocked and bewildered expression. "T-tsunade-sama?" Sakura whispered but loud enough for her companions to hear. She had a bad feeling of what's going to happen next. "Wouldn't you mind joining me to the library before you go home?" Tsunade asked Sakura seriously. "S-sure, no problem," she replied, trembling. She looked at her three friends before following Tsunade, their school principal. Hinata smiled, Ten- ten raised her thumb, and Ino winked at her. She felt more relaxed, she knew that they wouldn't leave her alone no matter what.

Sakura and Tsunade walked silently through the corridors of their school. She noticed that some students were looking at them. But instead of crouching and hiding her face, she stood straight and held her chin up. _'Why should I be ashamed when I know that I haven't done anything wrong?' _ She thought.

Finally they had arrived at their destination. Tsunade stopped in front of a table as Sakura looked at her. "Why did you call—you! What are you doing here?" Sakura shrieked as she saw Sasuke sitting lazily at the other end of the table, his chin cupped in his left hand. "What? You think you're the only one getting detention?" Sasuke uttered without looking at her as he chewed his gum. Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"Detention? I'm not here for detention—"

"Actually, you are. It's because of your fight at the cafeteria with Mr. Uchiha. I'm so disappointed, Haruno. A bright student getting detention?" Tsunade uttered lowering her head. Sakura, hearing the statement of their school principal, turned red as a tomato. And seeing Sasuke smirking even made her more embarrassed.

"Well then, you may start cleaning," Tsunade stated as she was about to leave the room. "Clean! But it's nearly 6:30, the school grounds are closed beyond that time!" Sakura exclaimed as she saw Tsunade halt for a moment. "We weren't be here if you weren't that clumsy, Haruno," Sasuke uttered, his head lowered, his eyes hidden by his bangs. Sakura turned around, she was fuming in anger. How unlucky she was since Uchiha Sasuke went her way. And how cursed she will be the following days if he would still make trouble. She slammed the table so hard that it made Sasuke jumped away from his seat.

"Oh, now it's my fault! Even though in the first place you were the one bullying me!"

"Bullying you? Ha! That shows how immature you are, Haruno!"

"And that shows how…how stupid you are! Idiot!"

"You're calling me stupid though you're the one who bumped me in the cafeteria? How many dumb persons like you will prove that IT WAS YOUR FAULT!"

"I don't want to listen to any of your melodramatic statements!"

"Melodramatic! You're the one who's being melodramatic here all along. Over reacting to a simple task that even a fifth grader can do!"

"Will you two please SHUT UP?" Tsunade exclaimed as she parted the two students. They were only a few inches from each other now. "If you hadn't started this rumpus maybe we're all headed back home by now." The two stood still and quiet, but still looking at each other with rage. "Now, will you excuse me as I have a lot of things to do in my office. Finish cleaning and don't you dare start another rubbish." The two watched the retreating back of their teacher as they stood there, silence conquering the room.

"Well then, got to start before somebody gets too clumsy," Sasuke uttered as he made his way at the back of the library, checking on some books as his eyebrows knitted, probably bored. _'Looks like he has no plan of cleaning,' _Sakura thought as she went to the other end of the room, arranging some books.

A few minutes passed and she was done. She tried to avoid Sasuke so that she could go home already. "Hai..done. Need to relax," she uttered as she took her bag from a table nearby and made her way through the door. She pushed the door and—uh-oh, it didn't open. She tried to open it the other way around, but it seems the door was locked. She was beginning to panic. _'C'mmon, open up,' _she thought, her hands beginning to sweat. "Oh my gosh, this isn't happening," she uttered shakily.

Sakura turned around, thinking of what to do next. _'Oh, okay. I'll swallow my pride for just once,' _she thought as she went looking for Sasuke. There he was asleep in a table, his eyes shadowed by his hair as a small smile crept in his lips. She stared for a moment, looking at the sleeping figure of Sasuke. She smiled, _'He's a bit…cute when he's asleep,' _Sakura thought.

"What are you looking at, Haruno?" Sakura leapt in surprise. He was awake. _'Damn it! He tricked me again, damn you Uchiha!' _she thought, gritting her teeth. Sasuke smirked, "Stalking me, are you? Hn," he uttered as he stood up and looked out at the window. "I..WAS..JUST..GOING..TO..TELL..YOU..THAT…WE'RE..LOCKED…IN," she uttered, suppressing her anger as she clenched her fist.

"Good one, but not too good, Haruno."

"I'm dead serious, Uchiha! Go and see it for yourself."

"Hn."

"Why do you think would I waste my time talking to you when I would be at home already?"

"Because you want to spend more time with me I guess?"

"Oh! Damn you! Dumb bell!"

Sakura marched away from him as she went straight to the door. She sat on the floor helplessly and lowered her head. _'Can everything get any worse?" _she thought. Being locked in with Sasuke was the last thing she ever wanted to happen, how cruel life is. Her first day had been a disaster because of him. "Got any ideas?" Sasuke uttered. Sakura raised her head and glared at him. He doesn't seem to be worried about the idea that their locked. "Isn't it obvious, dumb bell?" she sarcastically stated. Sasuke, however, ignored her and looked around. "Does this room have any fire exit or something?" he asked. "None," she briefly replied.

He was really irritating her. If she was to choose between Sasuke and Naruto, she would automatically choose the latter than be with the asshole in front of him. "Hmm. Haruno, mind if you take off your socks?" Sasuke suddenly uttered. Sakura gaped at what she saw; Sasuke had taken off his shirt and socks and somehow tied them together like a rope. "W-what are you doing?" she uttered, trembling. Sasuke grinned at her reaction, "Don't worry. I wouldn't touch you even though you're the last girl here on earth. I just need these for us to get out of here," he explained. Sakura became beet red and lowered her head. "Oh," she whispered.

Sakura handed down her socks to Sasuke, watched him tie them together and throw the other end outside the window. Then, he tied the other end to the side of a nearby shelf. _'Well, at least he knows how to work things out,' _she thought as she watched him tighten the knot. _'If only you weren't such an idiot,' _she uttered to herself.

"What are you waiting for?" Sasuke asked. Sakura abruptly stood up, grabbed her bag and climb the window. When she was already out, she suddenly realized that it was nearly 8 in the evening and that her mom might be looking for her right now. Sasuke who was already out too and was putting on his shirt, noticed Sakura's sudden panic. "Your mom gonna beat you up?" he jokingly uttered as he enjoyed Sakura's horrified face. She felt annoyed once again and glared at him, "No." She started to walk away, having enough 'Sasuke smirks' for the day.

"I'll walk you home if you want."

"NO!!"

"I think that's a yes, very well then."

"A while ago you were insulting me. And then you mocked me. And now you're trying to trick me. What's all this rubbish all about, Uchiha!" But Sasuke only grinned at her as he walked by her side, trying to annoy her more. Sakura, already tired of his statements, just kept quiet as they walked in silence.

XxxXxxXxxX

"Sakura! We were so worried! Where have you been?" her mother asked as she opened the door of their house, surprised to see that Ino, Hinata, and Ten- ten. "I'm—I'm alright mom. Just got locked up in the library," she stated as she entered their house. "And who is this boy you're with, Sakura?" She blushed as her mother waited for her answer. She saw Ino giving her that Oh-my-gosh look which made her roll her eyes. "He's Uchiha Sasuke," she uttered. "Hmm…he's your boyfriend?" Sakura's eyes widen as Sasuke coughed irritably. "N-no!" she protested. "I..THINK..YOU..BETTER..GO..NOW..SASUKE…ELSE," Sakura stated as she tried so hard to smile. It gave her a hard time mentioning his first name. After saying this, she immediately closed the door in front of his face.

'_Boyfriend, eh?' _he thought as he walked home. _'That gave me an idea,' _he murmured to himself with a suspicious glint in his eyes.

XxxXxxXxxX

**A/N: **That was kinda long. Hehe. But I hope you enjoyed reading. I think that I can be able to post the following chapters more often now. Hoping for your reviews!


	4. What happened?

**A/N: **I thank those who had given this story some reviews. I really am flattered. Though it's not as many as my other friends who are also writers, I still appreciate it because I know that I am not that talented in writing. Hehe. Anyway, more cat fights from Sasuke and Sakura in this story. I think that justifies my synopsis. Hehe.

**Disclaimer: **Hai..Maybe I'll just put one of these every next chapter. So next time I wouldn't have to say this again. I don't own Naruto.

**WORDS LEFT UNSAID**

**CHAPTER FOUR: What happened?**

"Looks like the Sasuke- Sakura already faded. No more Sasuke in sight these past few days, haven't you noticed?" Ino stated as she savored her last piece of dark chocolate. She was walking with Sakura for their Math class with Kurenai. Tenten and Hinata were in another class, they had split up after lunch for their own classes. "Stop it, AND I'm serious," she added as Ino was to protest once again.

True, Sasuke hasn't disturbed Sakura's life since last week when they were locked in the library for detention. The next day after that, her three friends approached the school janitor and complained about how stupid he was to lock the door though he knew that there were still people inside. Though their janitor explained that he didn't knew Sasuke and Sakura were there, they still believed it was his fault.

"But the school grounds should be closed at 6:00 in the evening. I was just following orders," he insisted. "Following orders! What if they weren't able to get out there? Was it they're fault you absentmindedly locked the door?" Ino hysterically stated, forgetting her manners already as she was almost shouting at someone older than her. "Well, it wasn't my fault they got detention in the first place, young lady." Blah. Blah. Blah. And the argument went on and on the whole day. Sakura wished she hasn't told her friends that they were locked.

Going back to Sasuke, since last week, he haven't talked or approached Sakura as far as she remembered. It was a good scene though she's becoming to smell something fishy about the situation. Imagine Uchiha Sasuke ignoring you when just yesterday he was almost torturing you. It's a bit weird for Sakura and her friends, though the other students don't seem to mind it.

"It's really weird. I know he's up to something. I can just feel it," she said to Ino as they walked through the corridors of the school. "Oh stop being too paranoid, Sak. Think positive! Maybe he just gave up on you; realized that you're too tough, you know?" Ino stated as she chewed her gum, her earrings almost touching her shoulders and her skirt a few inches above her knees. Sakura shook her head and lowered her head. "No, I know he's up to something no good. Hmm.." she whispered to herself. They walked silently as they neared the room.

"Uhm, Sak?"

"Wait, I'm thinking here."

"Oh, it's just that--,"

"Later, Ino."

"S-sakura?"

"WHAT! OUCH!"

At that very instant she had raised her head; her forehead had accidentally bumped on somebody's chin. She rubbed her forehead and looked at the person in front of her. "Ouch! My forehe—"It was Sai, so that was what Ino was trying to say to her, that he was approaching. She immediately turned red as she saw him. "h-hi Sai," she shyly uttered, lowering her head a bit, still rubbing her forehead. "Uhm, hi. Sorry I—er bumped you," he said scratching the back of his head. _'Hai. It's like talking to that dumb bell Sasuke. Only that he isn't dumb,' _she thought as she stared at him. She couldn't find any words to say in front of this boy. It was weirder than what she was suspecting at Sasuke a while ago. There was total silence between them, until Ino's big mouth started shooting out questions.

"Have you heard about Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke being locked—"

"—In the library. Er—yeah. I know it already," Sai finished for Ino as he smiled a bit at Sakura. She wished Ino had just shut her mouth. "It was an accident," she explained to him, still feeling shy. Ino just stared at them dreamily, as if watching a play of Romeo and Juliet. "Uhm, I know. Well, uhm. Sakura, would you mind having dinner with me tonight?" he asked as he looked straight in Sakura's eyes. She almost leapt when she had heard his last statement. "Oohhh, that was fast," Ino uttered as Sakura stepped on her foot. "Ouch! Just kidding!" she exclaimed.

"Uhm, well?"

"Huh?"

"Is it okay?"

"…"

"Sakura?"

"Oh, sure"

"Really?"

"Yeah, no problem," she uttered grinning.

"Good, I'll pick you up at 7:00."

"Cool."

"Uhm. Okay! Enough of the one-word sentences already. Sakura and I need to go to our class already, so, bye Sai!" Ino interrupted as she pulled Sakura away from the said boy and towards their class which was only a few feet away. Ino opened the door and apologized to their teacher for being late as they sat down next to each other, Ino still pulling Sakura in her arm. "That was so rude of you, Ino!" she hissed as they pretended to listen to their instructor. "Whatever," Ino stated as she carelessly waved her hand. So Sakura just sat there looking at her teacher for an hour.

XxxXxxXxxX

"Sakura! Ino! I've something to tell you! Wait up!" The two turned around to see Tenten running towards them. They looked at each other before returning their attention to their already exhausted friend. _'Now what?' _Sakura thought looking at Tenten who was already in front of them, catching her breath. "What's up, Ten?" Sakura asked.

"It's..about..Uchiha..Sasu—"

"Uchiha Sasuke! Oooh, Sakura you better listen to this carefully!" Ino exclaimed with sparkling eyes as she cut off Tenten's statement. Sakura glared at her before looking once more to Tenten. "What is it?" she asked once more. The said girl straightened her herself before continuing. "Sasuke said that you two did SOMETHING while you were locked up in the library, and you know what I'm talking about," she hastily explained for her.

Sakura couldn't believe what she had just heard. _'I knew it! Damn you dumb bell!' _ She thought as she stared at the floor, her head lowered and her fist clenched. Her two friends, somehow understanding Sakura's reaction, didn't talk for a while. "How did you find it out?" Sakura whispered but loud enough for them to hear. Ino and Tenten looked at each other before the latter answered. "I heard Kasumi and Karin talking about it during our History class, and it seems like…the whole class already knows it but me. They were all listening to the two and would add side comments once in a while," she informed the two. Sakura tried to relax but found that she couldn't. What did Uchiha Sasuke want from her? She didn't know. All she knew is that she wanted to hit him so hard and break all the bones in his body so that he could never see the sun rising the next morning. And as she thought of it, Sakura just found herself walking and looking for him.

XxxXxxXxxX

"**UCHIHA!**" Sakura exclaimed when she had already found him. Sasuke, who was currently talking with his friends, saw Sakura and smirked. _'So she heard the news already, good,' _he thought. Everyone saw Sakura approaching him, but instead of laughing at her, they run out of the way as they saw Sakura's eyes turning into gigantic balls of fire. Sasuke seemed to be the only one unafraid of her 'cause he seemed cool and relaxed beside Sakura's outrage. _'This is going to be a good one,' _he thought while he grinned as Sakura was getting closer and closer.

"WHAT…DID…YOU…JUST…TELL…THEM…NOW?" she asked slowly and with gritted teeth but low enough for the others not to hear. Sasuke crossed his arms and lowered his head, shadowing once more his eyes as he smiled. "Nothing," he said coolly. Sakura's hands trembled as her fingers were now leaving marks in her palms due to intense anger. She slowly approached Sasuke, ready to hit him at any moment when suddenly he raised his hands and spoke. "Wait a minute, Haruno! You don't want to start another fight with me, oh no you wouldn't. You don't want to get detention again with me at the library, D-O Y-O-U?" Sasuke uttered slowly. Sakura suddenly stopped walking as her eyes widened, her legs started trembling, either due to anger or fear she didn't know.

"Ooohhhh!" almost all the people in the corridor said in unison. They were all watching the little cat fight the two was having. Sakura looked around, everybody was giggling and whispering some words she couldn't hear or understand. But she was sure they were all talking about her. Sasuke noticed Sakura's expression and gave a mischievous grin. _'Bingo,' _he thought as he, once again, enjoyed Sakura's horrified look. It just gave him such an unexplainable satisfaction whenever he would see her look like that.

"Tell them it isn't true, dumb bell! You're all making these things up!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing at Sasuke who seemed unperturbed. "Oh, really? Why are you denying it now, Sakura?" he asked coolly as he eyed the trembling girl in front of her. Then, he took out something outside his backpack, and, to Sakura's horror, it was her socks. "Isn't this yours, Haruno? Hmmm?" Sasuke teasingly uttered as all the students gaped at what they saw.

Sakura just stared at it for a moment before she spoke. "Oh c'mmon! You asked me to give it to you so that we could go out in the library. That proves nothing!" But it seemed nobody believed her and, seizing the moment, Sasuke continued his own side of the story.

"We got out from the room using only your socks?"

"No! You also used your socks and your…………shirt," Sakura stated in a low tone.

"What!"

"Oh my God!"

"You're such a bitch, Haruno!"

All of the students who were watching them gave their own reactions which were obviously against Sakura. She was so irritated that she shouted out her next statement. "I WASN'T THE ONE WHO TOOK IT OFF, YOU IDIOTS! HE TOOK IT OFF SO THAT WE COULD GO OUT FROM THAT STUPID LIBRARY!" At first, all seemed to have believed her due to the sudden silence that conquered the corridor, but unfortunately, after a few seconds, they went on buzzing again.

"You are so…so bad!"

"Go to hell, Haruno!"

"We don't believe your explanations anymore!"

When Sasuke was already enjoying his obvious victory as he smiled, somebody had interrupted the commotion. "She's innocent," Sai suddenly uttered behind the crowd. All looked his way as he approached Sasuke. The latter was now looking at him with rage. "Nothing happened between you two and you know it," Sai uttered only for Sasuke to hear. They just stared at each other for a moment. "How did you know that nothing happened? You weren't there!" someone shouted at Sai. Without looking, he replied, "You weren't there either. How sure are you that something happened." Nobody dared to answer back. "Mark my words Sasuke. Leave her alone," Sai uttered as he pulled Sakura away from Sasuke; away from the crowd; away from trouble. Sasuke just watched the two fade in his sight as he tried hard to control his anger.

Sakura was surprised to see Sai pop out from nowhere and tell the whole school that she is not what they think she is. She just stared at Sasuke and Sai as they talked in a low voice that only the two of them could hear. "Uhm, where are we going?" Sakura said after recovering from shock. Sai rode on his black Nissan skyline and gestured for Sakura to get in. "I'm bringing you home," he briefly uttered. Sakura looked down before replying. "Oh," she uttered as Sai drove.

"Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Promise me something."

"What is it?"

Silence.

"Don't believe on any of Sasuke's statements again, or you might be in trouble."

Silence.

"Okay."

"Good."

XxxXxxXxxX

**A/N: **Did it turn out alright? Hehe. I wish it did. Hehe. Hoping for your kind reviews guys! Hehe. Next chapters are near! Hehe.


	5. a night to remember

**Crystalchaser's note: **Thank you for the reviews! Hehe. Here is chapter five of this story. Please read and review.

**Disclaimer: **Nope. I don't own Naruto.

**WORDS LEFT UNSAID**

**CHAPTER FIVE: A night to remember**

"Are you ready? Okay, one…two…three!" She was surprised at what she saw. "So? What do you think?" asked Ino as she crossed her arms. Sakura weighed her reply to her friend. Would she lie or tell the truth? She chose the latter.

"I look like…"

"A princess? A fairy?"

Sakura looked at her blankly. "A prostitute." She confided. Ino wiped her fake tears as she wailed so hard. "You're so rude! What kind of friend are you? I hate you!" Ino uttered as she exited Sakura's room. At the same time, Tenten entered, shocked at what she saw.

"Stay away!" Ino uttered as she slammed the door. Tenten and Sakura stared a long time at the door before they had noticed each other. "What's up with her now?" Tenten asked. Sakura shrugged as she wiped the excess make-up on her face. Her chocolate browned haired friend giggled as she approached her and sat at the side of her bed. "Are you ready?" she asked. Sakura looked at the mirror and saw the reflection of Tenten. She sighed. "This is my first…"

"…date. I know," Tenten finished for her.

Sakura doesn't usually go out with guys alone. That's why she hasn't really experienced an actual date. She felt nervous about the idea. She was a total alien when it comes to things related to dates and the like.

"Hey, princess. You're prince charming is downstairs," Ino uttered. Sakura looked at the door where Ino stood, she was smiling at her. "Goodluck," Ino said.

XxxXxxX

"So? Where does your father work?" asked Naruto to Sai. He was trying to pressure the said guy, seeing if he would freak out. Then, he would have something to tell Sakura about him. He hoped that he would stop following his friend.

"Uhm, he…owns like a business firm at the city," Sai answered as he looked at him, then smirked. Naruto was quite intimidated by his actions which made him more frustrated of the said guy. "What kind of firm?" he asked harshly. Sai thought for a moment then turned to him, "I'm not really sure. All I know is that it's all about the shipping industry," he said. Naruto, still unconvinced moved closer to him his eyes criticizing every bit of the person beside him. "How sure are you that your father's not involved in some mafia? Or some illegal group of smugglers?" Naruto stated incredulously. Sai looked at him seriously as he turned pale. Naruto waited for him to answer back but was surprised to see him speechless.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked when she had already arrived at the living room with her mother, Aki. Naruto and Sai stood up when they saw her come. "Good evening," he uttered to Sakura's mom as he bowed for respect. Aki smiled at the kind gesture, "You must be Sai. Sakura has talked a lot about you." Naruto looked at Aki abruptly, "She has?" Sakura stared at her mom for a long time, her cheeks turning beet red, "I have?" All of the people in the living room laughed at her. Sakura just shrugged and turned to her blonde friend.

"Long time no see. Why are you here anyway?" she asked incredulously. Naruto walked around Sai, examining him from head to foot. The said person just stood there with his hands inside his pocket. "Just looking around for some stalkers," he uttered.

Sai just shrugged and looked up at Sakura who was still blushing. He smiled as he saw this. "Shall we go now, Sakura-chan?" he asked courteously as he offered his hand to her. Sakura looked at him along time, with is sparkling eyes looking at her and his smile that seems to be unsurpassable, she sighed. She hoped she wasn't making a mistake about her decision. Right now, she was thinking of so many things—she imagined he was asking her to dance with him, or…asking her hand for marriage? She shrugged of the idea. _Stupid._

Sakura was about to take his hand if it wasn't for Ino who opened her big mouth once more. "What is this? A proposal? Did I miss anything?" she uttered as she went down the stairs. Sakura looked at her with flaming eyes, "Later," she uttered and went outside with Sai. "Bye mom," she said without looking at her. But her mom wasn't around anymore; she was upstairs, calling her husband. She had to tell something important.

XxxXxxX

"Your mom's sweet," Sai uttered as he drove. Sakura smiled, "Yeah." She wanted to say _'You're sweeter,'_ but she knew better. A long silence followed. Sakura noticed that Sai was taking glances of her once in a while. She tried to ignore it by playing with her fingers. It was useless. The longer she stayed with him, the more she'll be losing her mind. _'He's like vortex—sucking up all my emotions. And yet, he's like a well, so deep…and dark…and mysterious._ She smiled. How cheesy her statements were. She was disgusted of her actions. _'You weren't like that before' _she said to herself humorously.

"Where's your dad? I didn't saw him earlier," he said, his eyes glued to the road. Sakura almost leapt when she heard him break the silence. "Oh, uhm. I…I'm really not sure. He goes to a lot of places. He…doesn't come home that often," she confided. Sai nodded, "Is it about his work?" he asked casually. Sakura thought for a while. She didn't consider that idea before. "I think so, that's what mom says," she said. "Oh," Sai replied in a whisper. "I understand. That's my situation, too," he told her as he took a glance of Sakura. "Really?" she said as she eyed him with surprise. Sai smirked, "I thought you knew. He doesn't come home that often also. But I'm not angry of him," he revealed. Sakura looked at his eyes; she wasn't an expert at guessing if someone's trying to hide his or her emotions. But when she looked at him, she knew that he was telling the truth, and that he was proud of his father. She admired him more because of it. "I'm proud of him, and I'd do anything just to make him proud of me, too," he uttered. She didn't answered back but just smiled. "Here we are," Sai said as he turned to the parking lot. Sakura looked at the façade of the place; it was enormous and glittering with lights. It was more than what she had expected. Sai turned off the engine, "Let's go," he said. He got out of his car and opened the door for Sakura. It was going to be a night full of surprises.

XxxXxxX

Gaara was supervising the cooks at the kitchen as they work; he quietly walked around the room. Unexpectedly, he glanced at the window leading to the dining area. He looked at the customers; they were all from known families and companies. It was expected anyway, for the owner was also part of the elite families in Konoha

Uchiha Sasuke, the son of Uchiha Fugaku—the owner of the most renowned producer of electronic machineries, was the owner of the said restaurant. At the age of 16, he already owned a business of his own. His father wanted him to. His brother, Uchiha Itachi, is managing a meat packing company at a town near Konoha. After Sasuke's class, he usually goes straight to the restaurant and stay there for three to five hours. But during weekends, if he isn't up to some trouble, he stays there from 12 noon to 10pm.

Obviously, their family is one of the '_rich and famous,' _spending thousands of cash for their luxuries, attending social gatherings and the like. But Sasuke didn't want to belong to that class. He wasn't interested in parties and, unfortunately, girls though he's considered a lady magnet.

Back to Gaara, as he was gazing at the dining area, his eyes where suddenly averted to two persons who have just entered the restaurant. He tried to get a better look at them and was surprised when he recognized who they were. "What the...," he smirked as he exited the kitchen and went towards Sasuke's office. "He ought to know this one," he uttered.

XxxXxxX

Sasuke was currently signing some papers and examining financial statements when Gaara entered his office. "What?" he uttered without looking at him as he continued with his work. Gaara stood at the edge of the entrance, resting the right side of his body at the frame of the door, his arms crossed. "You have some special guest in here, Sasuke," he uttered with a slight smile in his lips. Sasuke glared at him for a moment then shook his head as he recalculated the finances for the said day. "Spill up, Gaara. I have no time for these jokes," he uttered. Gaara laughed a bit and walked towards his friend then sat at the chair across his table. "This one's really quite a joke. I spy with my little eye…" he lingered around the room before continuing, "Sai and Haruno." Sasuke immediately stopped and slowly raised his head. Gaara shrugged, "Told yah it's a joke," he uttered. Sasuke smirked, "No it isn't. It's a masterpiece."

XxxXxxX

"So, what are you taking?" Sai asked as they both scanned the menu. Sakura gaped at what she saw. Besides that she didn't know what the foods where, the prices were, obviously, too costly for her. She swallowed before answering. "I-I'll be taking what you're going to eat," she said as she straightened up and tried to gain composure. Sai looked at her and smiled reassuringly, guessing Sakura's problem. She smiled in return then looked down to hide her face which was turning red again. "Don't worry, I'll make this night perfect for you," he uttered. Sakura just nodded with her head still lowered.

'_I thought it was going to be a casual dinner,' _she thought. Good thing that Ino had suggested for her to prim up herself. "I-it's a nice place," she whispered as she looked around. It brought out some aura as if you were at Italy or Rome, any European country. She liked it very much that's why she surmised that the food was also good. Besides, she had dreamt all her life to go to any country at Europe. Sakura smiled as she daydreamed (though it can't really be called DAYdreaming). She didn't notice how Sai looked at her with admiration, also smiling unknowingly.

"Look at how pathetic those two can be," Sasuke uttered as he watched them from the door of his office. _'I hope that Gaara had already passed on my command,' _he thought as he smirked, his eyes overshadowed by his bangs.

XxxXxxX

The waiter approached them and served their food. "This looks delicious," Sai uttered as he passed to Sakura her plate. She thanked him and they started to eat, talking about something once in a while. Suddenly, Sakura noticed something sticking out from her food. "What is it?" Sai asked, as he started to inspect Sakura's plate also. "Eeww! It's a fly!" she said in disgust though not too loud to disturb those who were eating. Sai immediately called the waiter and complained it. "I want to see the owner of this place," Sakura uttered in a dignified tone yet with politeness. The man nodded and walked away.

"They're asking for you, Sir," the employee said to Sasuke. He just nodded and went to the dining area towards where the two sat. Sakura didn't noticed him approaching as she was busy talking with her said companion. "Looking for me, Ms. Haruno?" he uttered casually. Sakura turned and opened her mouth to speak but was cut off when she saw who the man was. "You? What are you doing here?" she said irritably. Sasuke smirked with his head lowered and hands on his pockets, as usual. "I own this restaurant. So, you said you wanted to see me. What for then?" he said.

Sakura was dumbfounded. She felt embarrassed as she sat in front of Sasuke. As if all her energy had been sucked out when he had came near to her. "You own this place? Hn, no doubt the food isn't good," Sai uttered as he noticed that Sakura didn't answered back. He guessed that maybe she felt a bit embarrassed in front of the said sadist, which again, was true. Sasuke immediately raised his head and looked sternly at the said boy. "What?" he hissed. Sai smirked. "You see. Sakura had something—er undesirable in her food. We wish for you to please take care of it," he uttered in a calm but quite sarcastic tone. Sasuke didn't seem to be perturbed by his words as he just glared at him, as if throwing daggers at the said boy.

Sakura, on the other hand, kept silent as the two had once again clashed with each other. It was becoming a usual scene for her already, but it still felt awkward for her to be always in between them. "Sure, no problem," Sasuke said with a fake smile in his lips. He ordered one of his employees to change it. The said man took Sakura's plate. "Thank you," Sai uttered, satisfied.

After a few moments, the waiter returned with a bowl of soup in his tray. Sasuke, who was still standing next to Sai and Sakura, smirked. _'This is going to be fun,' _he thought. As the waiter approached the two, Sasuke put his left foot out and, unfortunately, tripping the waiter which caused him to pour the said food in front of Sakura. "Shit!" Sakura hissed as the sticky and hot substance touched her skin and burned it. Not to mention staining her white dress. She abruptly stood up and tried to wipe it off. Sai also stood and tried to help her, "Are you alright? I'm sorry I've brought you to this place. I'm really sorry," he whispered to her. She just nodded in reply as she tried to suppress her tears. Sasuke smiled in satisfaction with his work as he savored the moment of his victory once again. "Well…I guess that isn't my fault. Accidents happen, right? Oh, and by the way, that would be 700 for the bill," he said coolly.

When Sakura heard this, she abruptly raised her head and looked at the onyx-eyed boy. His smirk, his evil eyes, all about him, she hated so much. She felt so unlucky that she had to meet him. Without any warning, she grabbed the goblet of water on the table and poured it directly into Sasuke's surprised faced. All of the customers were looking at them already, whispering some words that they couldn't hear.

Sasuke was surprised on what she had done. He turned his head to the side when she poured the water to him and remained in that position, not minding to wipe off his face. "I hate people like you. Just because you have the power to do whatever you want and the wealth to buy all the things you desire, you abuse those who are of lower status. I may not be as rich and famous as you are, but at least I know how to respect others. I don't care if you're one of the renowned families here in Konoha, you're still rubbish for me. You're useless, and a certified bastard! I must have been cursed to meet a person like you who doesn't care for anything else but himself," she mumbled but still loud enough for Sasuke to hear. Her tears already flowing down her cheeks as she spoke.

Sasuke didn't move from his position. With his head lowered and his hair dripping wet, he just listened to the girl in front of her. Sakura grabbed her bag and rushed towards the exit, Sai giving her his coat. Gaara approached Sasuke who was still motionless, but when he was already near him, Sasuke immediately followed the two outside the restaurant. "Hey, where are you going?" Gaara asked but only silence answered him. He just sighed and got back to work.

Sasuke didn't really know why he went out to follow Sakura. When he got out, they were already gone. He saw Sai's car on the road and abruptly rode his motorcycle and followed them, his thoughts mixed up and unexplainable.

XxxXxxX

Sai walked Sakura towards their door. He noticed that she refused to talk during their ride home, in which he respected. At the doorstep, he decided to already open up a conversation. "Uhm…I'm really sorry it didn't turned out good," he said with his head lowered due to embarrassment. Sakura just smiled at him, "It isn't your fault. And besides, I had a great time. If it wasn't for that bastard," she explained. For a moment they just looked at each other with a smile in their lips. "I…got to go. See you at school," Sai uttered. Sakura just nodded in reply. She watched Sai as he walked away and rode his car. When he was already gone, she entered their house and went straight to her room as it started to rain.

XxxXxxX

Outside Sakura's house, under a tree, Sasuke stood motionless, his eyes fixed to what he guessed as Sakura's room. He saw Sai and Sakura talk in front of the door. He thought of what might they have talked about but decided to brush off the idea. Under his breath, with the harsh rain accompanied by the thunder, he whispered, "You don't know how hard it is, Haruno. You don't have any idea what I feel…"

XxxXxxX

**Crystalchaser's note: **I know that there's a lot of smiling in this chapter. But what the heck, it's the simplest sign of happiness but it has lots of implications. Anyway, please R&R.


	6. Guilt

**Crystalchaser's note: **I think I should be giving much more attention in this story. You know what I mean. Hehe. Thanks for reading/viewing my stories.

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies…**

**Words Left Unsaid**

**Chapter 6: Guilt**

It was the dreaded day for most of the students of Konoha High. The tension and stress can be felt inside the whole place. The chairs in each classroom were arranged one seat apart and the study rooms and libraries were packed with students. Their eyes were tired and most of them lacked sleep—it was examination day. The teachers were already preparing the test papers while most of the students were silently reading their past lessons.

"I hate this day so much!" Ino bellowed as they sat at a bench outside. "SsShHh!" Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata said in unison without taking away their eyes on what they are reading. Tenten and Hinata were reviewing Physics while Sakura and Ino will be taking a test on World Literature first. The brown-haired girl was scratching her head with the end of a pencil when Hinata suddenly tapped her shoulder. Tenten turned around in frustration as she faced her white-eyed friend. "What is it?" she asked. Hinata looked ahead as Tenten followed the said direction. It was Naruto with Sasuke and Gaara, they seem to be getting along well although Naruto only met the two a week ago. They were headed towards the building, Naruto seems to be the one doing the talking, Gaara does the smirking while Sasuke just hanging his head low, and yet, he was attracting so much attention especially from the girls. Other than that, Tenten didn't see anything wrong.

"So? Is there something wrong if Naruto's befriending that beast? They aren't that different anyway," she asked as she took a quick glance of the three. Hinata swallowed and looked at Tenten, embarrassed, "Th-that's not what I meant," she uttered and covered her face with the book she was holding. Tenten, obviously confused looked at Ino who was grinning at them. She was sitting at another bench, her legs crossed as she rested her chin on her right hand.

Sakura, who was formerly engrossed on what she was reading, was already looking at the three, trying hard to absorb what's going on as if it was a lesson. "You don't really get it, huh?" Ino asked sarcastically as she looked at the face of Hinata which was tinted a deep shade of red. She smirked. "Simple," she uttered as she stood up and walked towards them, as if running on a catwalk. Then, she looked at Hinata straight in the eye; the said girl avoided her gaze. "She likes him," Ino said nonchalantly. Tenten gaped in surprise and shook Hinata's shoulder, "Oh my! You're already a woman, I can't believe this!" Hinata was trying to hide the smile in her lips. The three talked about the new revelation which irritated Sakura. _'Why can't they just lock their eyes on their books and study!' _she thought as she tried hard to remember all the things she had reviewed.

"…I've noticed it a few days ago. I was just too busy to tell you guys."

"You said he was annoying!"

"…maybe it was just a way for her to hide it, right Hinata-chan?"

Sakura covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly, she wasn't in the mood to talk and stop them from blabbering, not after what happened last night. It was worsening the headache she had when she woke up this morning. She could still feel the hot, sticky liquid touching her skin and burning it. _'I swear I'll break his neck one day…I'll surely will,' _she thought.

And as if time and fate was with her, the school bell rang which signaled the start of the examination in a few minutes. She exhaled and stood up quickly, "At last," she uttered which earned a bewildered expression from her three friends. "What?" Ino asked as the four parted ways already. "Nothing," she replied and continued walking. Ino shrugged and followed her friend. Sakura noticed that Ino hasn't opened her notebook even once but still, she was confident and didn't show any sign of pressure. "Aren't you going to read anything?" she asked in her curiosity. Ino grinned at her as she clasped her hands at her back. "I don't need to, I can easily rely on you, right?" she asked, a tone of assurance in her voice. "Why don't you work things out by yourself, Ino? For just once, please?" she uttered to her but obviously Ino wasn't listening and was looking straight ahead, smiling. She sighed, it was hopeless, and she was obliged to let Ino copy her answers during this exam. _'But just this once,' _she said to herself.

"I think you should be worrying about yourself, Sak. Trouble's coming," Ino uttered without looking at her. Sakura looked ahead; she grimaced at what she saw. Sasuke was at the doorway, talking with Gaara and Naruto. The latter saw her and waved, "Hi, Sakura-chan!" he shouted. Sasuke and Gaara immediately turned and saw her, both were grinning. Sakura blew her bangs off her eyes and held her sling bag tighter than usual as she approached the three, as if gathering strength before facing them. She was intending to ignore Sasuke, but it seemed to be impossible. "Hi, Sakura-chan," Sasuke uttered in a teasing tone. _'When did he started calling me that?' _she thought as she ignored it and was about to walk straight away from them. Unexpectedly, Sasuke caught her arm which stopped her; she still tried not look at him. All of the students gathered around, watching them once more. It seemed to be an exciting episode of a show for them every time the two would meet, and it was always a blockbuster.

"Why are you avoiding me?" he asked with a mischievous smile. Sakura didn't even move a bit, unperturbed by Sasuke's presence. Naruto and Gaara had already backed away at this moment, not wanting to ruin the scene. Sasuke was of the same state as Sakura was, he was sure he was going to win this time. "You don't want me to tell them what you've told me about IT, right?" he asked, emphasizing the word IT so that all of the people would understand what he was referring to. Obviously, most of them understood. Sasuke felt Sakura stiffen, he smirked at her reaction.

Sakura was trying hard to control her temper. She wouldn't allow this beast beside her to succeed with his plan. She took a deep breath and slowly faced Sasuke with a sweet smile on her face. Sasuke was taken aback by her action. The last time she had smiled at him like that, he had been badly hurt (refer to chapter 2). "Sasuke-kun," she uttered, disgusted of the word that came out of her mouth. All of the people were listening intently now, not wanting to miss any word. Sakura moved closer to him, earning gapes and whispers from the crowd, she was already enjoying their presence. She neared her lips to Sasuke's ears which made the said boy shiver. "You don't want them to know why I refused to go with you and do IT, don't you?" she whispered but loud enough for the others to hear. She backed away as Sasuke loosened his grip to her hand and at last, freeing her. There was a loud snickering around the place, they fully understood what Sakura meant and they were surprised by that new revelation.

"That's sickening!"

"How awful!"

"I never thought Uchiha would be like that!"

Sasuke's face turned red from embarrassment. He can't even look at them as they laughed. He had lost to a girl, and that girl was none other than Haruno Sakura. Now, the joke was on him. He slowly raised his head to face the mob that was laughing continuously. Everybody saw the death glare that he was throwing at each and every one of them at that very moment. And as fast as they started laughing, they had instantly became silent, afraid of what could Sasuke do to them next. He immediately went to his seat next to Gaara and rested his right arm at the back of the chair as he combed his hair, "Rubbish," he uttered as he looked at Sakura. He would have his revenge as soon as possible.

XxxXxxX

"Hai! That was soooooo easy!" Ino exclaimed when they were already finished from their examination. "Easy? You didn't even answer a single number by yourself! Good thing Kurenai wasn't the one looking after us or else we'll be dumped!" Sakura hysterically uttered. Ino didn't seem to care as she continued winking at every cute guy she saw. Sakura raised an eyebrow at her but she just shrugged, "Can't help it, Sak. Besides, you can't understand me because you have a different situation. You have Sai and Sasuke who—"She had automatically stopped blabbering when she saw the dangerous glint in Sakura's eyes.

Everyone who isn't used to Sakura might be offended or turned off by her attitude—she's a fighter—her friends would say. Others call it _lack of manners_ or being _too tough_. But Sakura was never perturbed by those statements.

"Sakura, think fast,"

"Huh?" She raised her head and saw Sai approaching her. She looked abruptly at Ino, "Why didn't you tell me!" but Ino just waved goodbye and walked away. She sighed, _'I'll never get used to this,' _she thought as she straightened herself and tried to wear a sweet smile. "Hi, how's the exam?" Sai asked with his usual cool smile. Sakura stared at him dreamily,

'_Hai…that always melts me…' _

'**Hey! Sakura, you're being so pathetic! Cut that out,'**

'_Huh? Who are you?'_

'**I'm your inner self, stupid. And I thought you were smart, sheesh!'**

'_Alright,alright, I understand! What do you want me to do then?'_

'**Geez! Has he also melted your brain? Act normal, relax!'**

'_You think it's that easy'_

'**Whatever, if you don't want my help, I'm going. Goodluck with him!'**

'_Wait!'_

"Sakura, are you alright?" She immediately turned her head to face Sai. "Uhm..yah. I'm f-fine," she stammered. She needs practice in talking with this guy. "Do you know why Kurenai is out?" Sai asked as they walked through the corridors, their surroundings seem to be invisible. Sakura tried to ignore the glares that some of the girls were giving her. She lowered her head as Sai did the talking, trying not to miss any of his words. "Some said she's going to have a baby," he said. It was this statement that made Sakura stop from her tracks as her eyes grew wide. "What? She's pregnant!" she exclaimed, earning a surprised look from her companion. "Yeah, that's what I've heard. But it's not yet sure," he assured her as he saw the incredulous smile in her lips.

They neared the exit of the building but still, everybody was looking at them, some whispering something to their companion as they passed by while others were grinning unknowingly. Both of them didn't care.

"Oh my! It's such a surprise! I never thought she'll be having a baby,"

"Me, too. It seems farfetched when you look at her; she doesn't like kids that much,"

"Oh, how I love babies! They're so cute and cuddly and…" Sakura had stopped when she noticed that Sai was staring at her. She slowly lowered her head, hiding her face from him.

"Hey, w-what's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just..well. You might think I was over reacting and…pathetic to love babies so much—"

"No, it's fairly normal. And I somehow like kids, too" Sai uttered with a grin plastered in his face. Sakura laughed with him. It was odd for a boy to have the same interest as girls. Usually, they would prefer the opposite, but Sai was different, or at least that's what she thinks.

Not from afar, an onyx-eyed boy caught sight of the two. _'Hn. Wherever I go, their always there,' _he thought as he stopped from his tracks and eyed the said pair. Gaara had halted, too. Something must have caught Sasuke's attention, and he had a hunch of who it might be. "What do you want to do now?" he asked. He looked at Gaara a moment; he had always known what he was up to without him saying it. _'What can you expect? We almost have the same attitude,' _he thought. " watch," he uttered as the two had already parted. Sakura immediately saw him as she turned. She stared at him for a moment as Sasuke glared at her. The said boy approached Sakura, she felt her feet to be somehow glued to the ground, making her unable to move or run away. _'I hate when this happens,' _she thought as she looked straight ahead. Students were passing-by the two, all too excited to go home to notice another scene from them.

"Still hanging out with him, huh?" Sasuke asked in a low voice, no trace of trickery in it. Sakura just stared at him with a bewildered look. What the hell does he care if she's still hanging out with him? It wasn't his problem anymore or his concern. She had a lot of questions on her mind but she was unable to say it. Just merely staring at him gave the answer to his question. "Stay away from him," he said nonchalantly, his eyes overshadowed by his bangs. "What?" Sakura asked in surprise. "Stay away from him? I think that would be more convincing if someone else said it to me. But you?" that was her last words and then she walked away, just like what she did earlier, she was becoming more used to ignoring him.

XxxXxxX

The whole examination week went on smoothly after their incident. Sakura was able to back Sasuke off every time he was near. Many times that week, they would pass by each other, and unexpectedly, Sasuke would just look at her and that was it. Sakura always held a satisfied smile when she would pass by the said boy. She had a feeling that she had succeeded and the thought that the invincible Uchiha Sasuke had lost to her made her feel better.

Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke were at the parking lot. Sasuke was leaning against his motorcycle while the two sat at a nearby bench. "You know what, Gaara? I haven't seen ANY action these past few days. I wonder if SOMEONE had already given up," Naruto asked, the implication of his question was very visible for the two as he emphasized some of his words. Gaara grinned as Sasuke lowered his head, hiding his face from the two. "Answer the question, Sasuke," Gaara uttered as he put his hands at the back of his head. Sasuke looked around the place; there were only a few students around. Most were having their test inside while others were silently studying, no one will overhear their conversation.

Back at Sound, Sai and Sasuke really were complete rivals. And he could say that up to now, the case was the same. But he was positive that their rivalry wasn't the reason why he was annoyed by Sai's closeness to the said girl. He knew something about Sai that made him uneasy.

Flashback

"No! Please go away," a girl with blond hair uttered as a group of men surrounded her in the empty and silent road. There were no more vehicles or people around which caused the girl to panic and feel helpless.

"Don't be afraid, you trust me, right? You trust me more than any other person,"

"No! You tricked me! All of you, you're all monsters! Killers!" the girl screamed as she crawled slowly in the ground, the boy approaching him. Her hair was a mess and her uniform was unkempt. Traces of tears were visible in her cheeks.

She had trusted him so much that she never thought that he would do this to her. He was going to kill her first, then her whole family. Sai leaned down to her, wearing a mischievous smile. "I thought you were good, but I was wrong. You know how I hate traitors, right?" he said as he played with a kunai. The girl was looking hysterically at the weapon then to Sai's face. "I didn't. You were the one who lied all this time, you're a monster! You and your father!" she shouted. Sai punched her in the stomach which made her body ache more. She held her stomach as if trying to lessen the pain. Sai grabbed her wrist angrily and pulled her up; his eyes resembled a fiery inferno of hatred. "Never…ever talk about my father like that," he uttered angrily as he pushed her down to the ground. "You know what to do," Sai uttered to one of his gang members. The said man nodded and approached the girl with a grin.

"No, stay away! Please!" the girl exclaimed as the men held her hands and started tearing her clothes. "No…P-please…..s-stop…" the girl whispered, all her strength being drained already as her eyes were slowly shutting. Suddenly, a shuriken came rushing towards one of the men and, before he can even avoid the attack, it struck his left eye. He screamed from the pain as his eye bled. The other men as well as Sai, looked at the direction where the weapon had come from and was surprised to see a group of people wearing black coats approach them. He noticed that the man at the lead had red, wheel-like, fiery eyes—the sharingan. "Uchiha," Sai muttered under his breath as they approached.

There were half a dozen of them, all camouflaged with the night. Sai turned around to his men and was surprised to see half of them lying on the ground, almost near to death. The others were already wounded badly as some of Sasuke's gang members were already torturing them to unbearable pain.

"Astounded?" Sai looked back and found Sasuke already behind him with an evil grin plastered in his lips, his eyes overshadowed by his bangs. Sai could feel the cold tip of the gun at his sides. "Mind your own business, Uchiha. You have no concern about our plan," Sai hissed, his body unable to move as sweat trickled in his spine. He felt Sasuke tighten his hold on the trigger, "I don't have any concern about your damn plan. But one of my friends has," Sasuke uttered in a low, dangerous voice. He slowly loosened his grip on the gun as Gaara approached their supposed victim. He pushed Sai towards his companion and took the girl, who was Temari, from Kiba. She was trembling and she kept uttering the same words over and over again. Sasuke covered her almost naked body with his coat as he watched the two have a little conversation.

Gaara held Sai's collar and lifted him, his feet elevating a few inches from the ground. "If you ever touch my sister again—"he stopped. Sai was grinning at him, and then, he started laughing, and it became louder and louder. Gaara freed him as he looked at Sai incredulously. He looked at his sister, Temari, she was uncontrollably sobbing as she twirled the ends of her hair. Sasuke and Kiba were trying to stop her from doing it, but she just continued, not minding all the people around her. Gaara sharply turned to Sai.

"You—"

"I did nothing, she was too fragile," Sai uttered then smirked. He called out his gang mates and they walked out of the place, leaving Sasuke's gang shattered. Gaara was trying to calm down his sister. "No….please…stop…" Temari uttered as she pushed Gaara's hand away, staring at the never ending nothingness. Sasuke watched the two from afar. Shino placed a hand in his shoulder, "We did what we have to do," he said. Sasuke didn't even stir. He was looking straight ahead, his fist clenched. _'You'll never have a chance, Sai. I swear you'll never do this again. You'll pay…'_

End of Flashback

"Whoa…you guys have a gang?" Naruto uttered astounded. Sasuke had told the story to the two, though Gaara already knew everything that happened. Both of them looked at Naruto who was still gaping at them, eyes wide open.

"S-so, that's the reason why you don't like Sai…and…Sakura might…we need to tell this to her!"

"NO!" Gaara and Sasuke uttered in unison. Naruto looked at the two, confused.

"Why? She has to know it and—"

"If you tell this to her, you will also tell her all the things about our gang, and that's not a very good idea. Since Sai's gang and ours have the same purpose…," Gaara uttered. He looked at Sasuke and he nodded. "…to kill anyone who's in our way," Sasuke confided. There was a long silence after that. Naruto can feel the tension in the air gripping him, he swallowed. He now fully understood that he could also be killed mercilessly if he spilled the beans to Sakura.

Sasuke shifted his position and looked up, his eyes meeting the rays of the sun. "And besides, no one should even know about it. We just told this to you because someone asked us to recruit you and—" Sasuke stopped. He saw Naruto's eyes animatedly became watery, like a puppy's eyes. He sighed, _'If he wasn't really THAT good I wouldn't consider him,' _he thought. "Me?...in Uchiha Sasuke's gang? Whoaaa…I must be so damn good!" the blond boy said. He was still in a sense of –er, shock as he was dreamily gazing at his two companions.

Gaara coughed and tried to change the topic of their previous conversation. "So…have you really quitted and—lose with Haruno?" he asked. Sasuke thought for awhile as he adjusted from his seat, "I don't know. I just thought that it's time to stop. I think she isn't that bad," he uttered as he looked at Gaara, searching for any sign of approval. "Whoa…you've really changed, teme," Naruto uttered out of reverie. Sasuke twitched as he heard what Naruto had just called him. "Dobe," he remarked. "Hey! Take that back you—"he was about to charge at the said boy but thought of him being with the same gang. It made him daydream of it once more, thus, making him calm down. Sasuke smirked as he saw this.

"Are you serious, Sasuke?" Gaara asked out of curiosity. The said boy looked at him then smirked, "Not really"; he wasn't finished with his act yet.

XxxXxxX

It was still fifteen minutes before their time would elapse but Sakura had already finished answering. _'Hai…Good thing I didn't join Tenten in shopping yesterday,' _she said to herself. Already bored, she stood up and passed her paper to their teacher, Iruka who just nodded at her and gestured for Sakura to exit the room. Sakura obliged as she took her sling bag and went out.

There weren't any students around since it was still early. When she was almost outside of the school grounds, she remembered that she had to return a book to the library. She had borrowed it the day before and today was its due. She hurriedly ran towards the said building. _'Oh, why didn't I remember it earlier? Stupid,stupid,stupid!' _she quietly scolded herself. It was already becoming darker. She approached a lone corridor which was isolated from the other students. _'Almost there,' _she thought as she slowed down her pace. When she was only a few meters away, she saw a group of people approach her. She stopped as they neared. Her heart was beating faster than usual as she saw their faces, all of them were grinning. _'Relax, just…turn around,' _she said to herself as she turned her back towards them and started walking.

"Hey miss! Wait up," one of them called out and started running towards her. Sakura acted as if she had heard nothing and continued walking. "We just want to introduce ourselves!" another exclaimed. Sakura could feel them coming nearer, she started running. She took a quick glance behind her and saw that they were gaining on her.

"I said wait!" one of them uttered as he ran in front of Sakura. She immediately stopped and looked at him with wide eyes. The others were gathering around her, surrounding her as she had her back on the wall.

"Why were you running away, tenshi?"

"She's a beauty…"

"Damn your right!"

Sakura stared at one men from the other as she took rapid breathes. Her hair was already undone as her bangs were already clinging messily in her forehead. "Please, go away," Sakura whispered. All of them just laughed at her as they eyed Sakura, as if undressing her in their sight. They moved closer to her, Sakura trying hard not cry.

Shino was walking silently in the grounds when suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard some laughter and a girl's pitiful cry. He turned his head towards an isolated corridor and saw a group of boys taunting a girl. He was about to walk away and ignore the said commotion—it was usual in their school anyway. But as he took one last glance, he was sure that he saw a trace of pink hair. It was unmistakable. He immediately knew who it was. He was planning to stop the group from doing it by himself but he suddenly thought of someone and without hesitation, he ran towards his gang mate and leader, Uchiha Sasuke.

XxxXxxX

He was watching Kiba and Shikamaru playing chess, but in his mind he thought of his evil plan, his master plan, and it gave a satisfied feeling to him. "Yo! You tricked me. That was a wrong move!" Kiba exclaimed as he pointed at the white knight. The lazy genius just shrugged and put his hands behind his head, "How troublesome," he uttered. They were all engrossed at the said activity when they suddenly saw Shino running towards them. He ignored the questioning look of the two who were playing and immediately approached Sasuke. "Haruno Sakura…out there…they're about…to do somthing…I saw them…at the corridor…the other building…" Shino said between pants. "What! I just said scare her, not…" but he wasn't able to finish his sentence as he was already storming towards the other building, his eyes turning into a deep shade of red and black.

XxxXxxX

Sakura was trying her best to push those who were touching her and tearing her clothes off but they seem stronger than her that she cannot stop them, all her strength being drained out already. "C'mmon now, this will take only a few minutes," one of the men said as he tried to slip his hand under Sakura's skirt. She kicked the said guy's hand which angered him. "You good-for-nothing bitch!" he said angrily as he slapped Sakura's face. Two men were holding her hands as the others were continuously trying to take off her skirt which was already torn a bit, showing her thighs while her blouse had already lose two buttons already, almost showing her cleavage.

Sasuke immediately ran towards the abandoned corridor when he saw them. Sakura was crying out for help while the others were touching her and it reminded him of Temari. It only made him more enraged as he approached the group.

Sakura had lost. She was trapped and there was no way out. She was about to lose hope when suddenly, a man had punched the person in front of her. He spurted out blood which stained the white tiled floor. She took a better look at the person and was surprised to see the least person that she had expected to come—Sasuke. Sakura watched, still in shock as Sasuke twisted the arm of another man and broke its neck. The said person dropped to the ground, blood coming out of his mouth and injured arm. She heard a lot of breaking and screaming, it seemed to be her time of escape but she was too weak to even stand up.

A man tried to hit Sasuke in the face but he was able to stop him. "What the—"the man uttered as Sasuke smirked and twisted his hand as he elbowed another man who was trying to attack him from behind. Sasuke was in a rampage. He wouldn't stop until all of them were badly hurt, his red eyes matching the liquid that was scattered on the floor. He couldn't stand seeing girls treated like that. And even though it was Sakura—the girl whom he didn't like even one bit—who was being molested, he still didn't like the idea. When he was already finished, he let them all scurry away, his lips forming a satisfied smile as his eyes turned back to black. He took a glance of Sakura—she was sitting against the wall, hugging herself as she trembled, her uniform already torn into pieces. His smile faded as he saw her—this was his own doing. Sasuke slowly approached her. He stood in front of Sakura and, for the first time they have met, pitied her. "Sakura," he called. It was the first time he had called her by her first name in a serious situation, and it sounded very unusual for him. "It's alright, they're gone," he said but still, Sakura kept weeping and hugged herself more tightly. Sasuke sat down so that he could look at her in eye level. "Hey," he said as he held her shoulder trying to console her, but was surprised when she pushed him away which made him stumble on the floor.

Sakura ran away from him, not forgetting that Sasuke was the one who could only command those people to do this to her. She could never forgive him for all the things he had done.

Sasuke tried to stop her but thought that it would be better for her to be alone. He watched her until she was already out of sight, then, he wiped his blood-stained uniform with his handkerchief and walked away from the place.

XxxXxxX

"She was what?" Gaara asked in surprise. They were on his room as Sasuke was on a bad mood and didn't want to go home. Sasuke was lying in Gaara's bed, his hands at the back of his head, eyes closed.

"But I thought they were only going to threaten her?"

"That's what I've thought, too," Sasuke said still with his eyes closed. He was too tired to talk about it. He knew it was his fault, but he didn't want it to come into that case awhile ago. The conversation stopped for awhile as Gaara allowed Sasuke to rest a bit.

Then out of nowhere, Sasuke had spoke up, "It's Sai," he whispered as he opened his eyes. Gaara turned off his laptop and looked at him, confused. "What?" he asked. Sasuke sat up and looked at him, "Sai might have ordered them to do it. Sakura wouldn't suspect anyone else to do it but me. That's why he was confident in doing it," he explained to Gaara. "Nonsense, why would he do it? He has no intentions. Maybe the ones you've commanded just messed up," he said. Sasuke stood up, defiance in his face as he sat near his companion. "He HAS intentions, but we still don't know what it is. He's up to something no good and he's trying to get me out of it," he uttered hastily. Gaara didn't answer immediately and just stared at him, his face expressionless. "What?" Sasuke asked irritably. "You're not always right, Sasuke. And besides, you may not know if you're on the right side" he simply uttered, not taking his eyes off his friend. Sasuke sighed, it was hard to explain because it really was just a hunch, but he had a feeling about it. It was odd to talk about things like this since he was also fond on doing the things which shouldn't be done. In short, he was always on the bad side.

"I know that," he said as he sharply averted his gaze outside. "…But this time I know I'm on the right side. I'm sure of it."

XxxXxxX

**Crystalchaser's note: **It's a record! This is the longest chapter I've written! Anyway, I hoped you liked this chap, my head ached a bit when I was typing this, but it's worth it, right? Please read and if you have time, please review. Hehe.


	7. Truce

**Crystal chaser's note:** Whoa! I really like typing this story and thinking of events and stuff. But the hard part is on how I would express them just the way I want them to be. I'm also having a hard time on deciding which one goes first on the events. Anyways, writing is my favorite hobby anyway, so it also makes me happy. haha!

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

**WORDS LEFT UNSAID**

**CHAPTER 7: Truce**

Sakura felt all eyes staring at her as she walked at the hallway which was packed with students. She hang her head low, looking from left to right as all of them were whispering and smiling at her. It gave her goose bumps. It wasn't everyday that they would all look at her that way then smile at her as if they were some close friend of hers.

'_Something's up and I'm the one on it again,' _she thought and sighed.

She didn't like all the attention anyway because she knew it was no good. Sakura tightly held the strap of her sling bag and walked in a faster pace towards her locker. Most of the students would greet her and say hi when she would pass by. She would just nod and force a smile on her lips.

"Sakura!" she quickly turned around and was relieved when she saw Ino's grinning face.

"Oh, I thought it was another of those guys," she said then turned around and opened her locker, Ino standing behind her with a questioning look.

Sakura took out her History book and a pen then put them inside her bag. When she was about to close her locker, something caught her eye. She looked at it with knitted eyebrows, _'What's this?' _she thought, a blue envelope was slipped in her Math book. She looked at it with curiosity at first and then turned to Ino who was also staring at the said piece of paper.

"Did you put this on my book yesterday?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and pointed at the envelope.

Ino shook her head, "Nope, why would I even write to you when I can say it in front of your face?" she replied, crossing her arms.

She nodded her head in agreement. Sakura glanced at Ino's shoulder and suddenly noticed all of their classmates surrounding them. They were looking at her and were obviously anticipating her next move. It seemed that they knew that she had a mysterious letter in her locker. She slowly turned around, her back facing the crowd. She sighed and slowly took the letter, it had no note at the outside so she cautiously opened it, feeling the eyes of her classmates staring at either the envelope or her, it made her feel really uncomfortable. She took a quick glance behind her, she could see some familiar faces, others were strangers to her but it seemed they knew something more than what she knew.

With trembling hands, she slowly pulled out the letter and read it slowly. Ino was peeping at her shoulder and was also reading the note.

Both of them had to read the whole letter about three times before they had fully absorbed the content. Ino looked at her friend with concern; Sakura was holding the letter and was staring at it. The message was:

_Haruno,_

_I had nothing to do with it…_

_Sasuke_

'_That bastard, how could—' _She couldn't think of any word appropriate to describe her rage.

Her eyes turned into slits as she glared at the paper focusing on Sasuke's name so that it could magically disappear out of her sight.

Sakura sharply turned around and faced the surprised crowd. She held up the said letter and shouted, "Who among you put this goddamned letter in my locker, huh?"

Silence answered back. It was very frustrating for her to see them look around in fake innocence and then shrug. She tried once more.

"This isn't a funny, I'm serious," she exclaimed but no one seemed to care.

She blew her bangs off her eyes and slammed the door of her locker. Then, she crumpled the said letter and threw it to a nearby trash can.

"Let's go, Ino," she hissed and dragged her blond friend towards their room.

All of the students were still looking at her in silence. When she was already out of sight, they started talking simultaneously.

Sakura was panting as she walked, her hand still holding on tight to Ino's arm.

"S-Sakura calm down. It's just a letter," she uttered and tried to free herself from Sakura's grip.

"Just a letter, it's not just a letter, Ino. It's a death note from a devil," she hissed. Her companion just shrugged and kept quiet until they got to their room.

They stopped in front of the door as Sakura quickly turned to Ino, "You better keep quiet about the whole thing or else," Sakura hissed as she pointed to her friend.

Ino looked at her with wide eyes, "B-but Sakura the whole school might know—"

"I don't care..just……..just keep your mouth shut," she said. Ino just shrugged as Sakura opened the door.

A roaring and cheering crowd welcomed her; they were all clapping and whistling. Sakura looked at them with wide eyes, obviously confused.

"Oh, Sakura look!" Ino exclaimed as she pointed at the black board in front of the room.

Sakura turned towards the said direction. In different colored chalks the word _SORRY_ was written in big letters. She stared at the board for a long time. First the letter, and now this, what was next? It seemed to her that Sasuke was now acting as a goody-good boy, making all of the students in Konoha high fooled.

"_He's such a good actor. He should win an award,' _she said to herself. Ino was still admiring the message in the board that she didn't notice Sakura storm out of the room.

Sakura paced through the corridor with her fist clenched. She pushed everybody who was on her way. It was like déjà vu. A few days ago she was also storming down towards the said Uchiha, and at that very moment, she wondered how many times this year would she do this.

"Yeah, I'll join the team, why—" Sasuke trailed off as he saw Sakura hurriedly walking towards his direction.

"The practice will be at—hey!" Kiba exclaimed as Sasuke suddenly pushed him away. He looked ahead and saw Sakura, then quickly turned to Sasuke.

"This one's gonna be nasty," he uttered with a grin and backed away.

"Look, Haruno. Before you go mad—"

"Oh! Who told you I'm mad Uchiha. I'm not mad, I'm enraged!"

"Wait, I-I wasn't the one—ugh!"

Sasuke wasn't able to finish his sentence when Sakura had suddenly punched him in the face hard. He fell towards the floor, looking at the girl in front of him in surprise.

'_God, this one's tough,' _he said.

Students once again started gathering towards the said commotion. Most of them were staring at the poor Sasuke on the floor while some were looking with wide eyes at the pink haired girl who had just hit him.

"Don't forget your manners, Uchiha," Sakura uttered and started to go away if it wasn't for the _devil _that had stopped her from doing so.

"I didn't do it. I swear, I'm not responsible for it," Sasuke reiterated as he followed the said girl who was hurriedly walking away.

"Look, I had no idea who had done it but—"he sighed as Sakura wasn't paying attention to her.

Sasuke stood in front of Sakura and held her in the shoulders. Sakura wished she had died that very moment.

"What are you doing?" she asked irritably as she tried to break free.

"I didn't do it, okay?" he said. The said girl just glared at him, "I bloody hell don't care," she hissed then walked passed by him. Sasuke turned around and looked at the retreating back of Sakura, he sighed. "She's impossible."

Despite the hesitation he had within him, Sasuke forced himself to follow Sakura.

"H-hey wait up," he called out. The said girl stopped from her tracks and breathed heavily. It was going to be one long day. Turning around, she had decided to finally make the Uchiha shut his mouth but was surprised when she saw him talking with Sai.

Sasuke was about to approach her when suddenly Sai appeared out of nowhere. He blocked his way as he looked at the inky-haired boy sternly. There was a long idle silence as Sasuke threw the same look at the person on front of him, both of them not wanting to lose.

"Leave her alone," Sai whispered, still not taking his eyes from him. All of the girls on the crowd were cheering for their own bet, but one girl kept quiet as she stared at the familiar sight. Sakura was gaping at them with wide eyes.

"Why am I always involved?" she whispered helplessly. But it seemed that no matter how hard she thinks it through, she couldn't find any answer.

Sasuke stared at the boy in front of him unbelievingly. How could he act as if he was some good guy rescuing the damsel in distress when he was the one behind all of this? But again, it was just a hunch, a suspicion.

He grinned at the person in front of him which earned a bewildered look from Sai.

"You know, you should be saying that to yourself, Sai," he uttered malevolently. He knows he's up to something; he always has a purpose for doing unusual actions.

"What?" Sai said innocently.

'_Oh man, he's good at this,' _he thought as he shook his head incredulously.

"Seriously, what are you up to this time?" Sai stared at him for a moment, and then it was his turn to smirk.

"If you're talking about the gang, forget it, Uchiha. I've left it long ago. So if I were you," he neared a bit to the said boy and whispered, "Get lost," and then moved away and joined Sakura.

Sakura looked at the approaching boy with wide eyes, "I-I'm" she stammered but it seems that Sai didn't care. He smiled at her and said, "Why are you so pale?" Sakura was about to speak as she opened her mouth but had stopped immediately. She looked down, feeling embarrassed at the presence of Sai.

Suddenly remembering _the devil_, she looked back to see his reaction, _'Just to enjoy the once in a lifetime sight of defeat from him,' _she thought but was disappointed when she saw that he wasn't there anymore.

"Any problem?" Sai asked her. Sakura turned to him blankly and gently shook her head, "No, nothing," she uttered softly. He smiled at her as they started walk towards their room.

"Can I ask you something?" Sakura said, looking down the white tiled floor as she spoke. She sensed him nod so she stated her question, "Why…does…that..uhm, he"

"Sasuke," Sai continued for him noticing that she finds it hard to say the name of his so-called _rival_.

Sakura nodded and continued, "Uhm, yeah, him." She stopped and hesitated for a moment. Sai noticed her sudden silence and turned to her, "What is it?"

The said girl took a deep breath, "Why does he always back away when you're around?" she asked. Sai was expecting it to come. It was about time she asked it to him. He smirked as he thought of the rivalry they had, and of course, of their gang encountering each other occasionally before. He shrugged, "I don't know, maybe because we usually fight over something, and most of the time, I win," he said in a humorous tone. Sakura laughed in compliment of what her companion had said.

She was glad that she had met the person beside her. She noticed that she's in a lot of trouble these past few days, and she's beginning to think if she was jinxed or something. The only thing that makes her think positively was the presence of Sai who would always come in her aid whenever needed.

XxxXxxX

Again, no one believed him. Yes, he might be able to do everything everybody else wanted, except for one thing, he can't make others trust him, of who he was. It was his only weakness, trust. As far as he could remember, only one person had trusted and believed in him so much in his whole life. Pathetic, yes, but it's Uchiha Mikoto, his mother, his only refuge when he's alone. Standing in front of her, he felt safe. Knowing that her presence was here made him feel a bit better, but the loneliness and isolation still remained.

Standing motionless, he stared at the gray stone in the ground, where his mother rests forever. He gave a sad smile unknowingly.

"I did it again, mom. I messed up," he said softly, not moving in his place. Sasuke then laid the bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone, wiping a tear that fell at the side of his eye.

"You're really unfair. You were the only one who believed and trusted me, the only one, mom. And yet, you're not here," he looked ahead and smirked, closing his eyes, letting the calm wind blow through his face.

"I miss you, okasan," he whispered softly.

Flashback

It was like judgment day for him as he sat at the middle of their huge dining room, his father skeptically looking at his class card in front of him, his mother seated next to him. He was looking at his already pale and sweaty hands, nervous of what would his father say about him. Noticing this, Mikoto took Sasuke's hands in hers and smiled reassuringly. It made him feel a bit better.

"What is this?" his father suddenly uttered with furrowed eyebrows. Mikoto and Sasuke turned to him at the same time with a surprised expression as they anticipated Fugaku's next words. The said man held up Sasuke's class card in front of him, "A _B_ in Math? What is this, a joke?" he uttered furiously. Sasuke was looking at his father with watery eyes.

"Th-that…there must be--," but it was already too late for him to explain. Fugaku stood up and threw the piece of paper in front of him, storming out of the room. "Such a useless, little brat," he muttered.

Sasuke was suppressing the tears that were tempting to fall down his eyes. He knew it, he was useless, and his own father said it to him. No matter how hard he tries, it would still end up the same way.

"Sasuke," he heard a soft voice call him. He raised his head to face the pleasant face of his mother. She smiled at him sweetly as she wiped the tears away from his face.

"You did really well. I'm very proud of you," she whispered. Sasuke beamed at his mother, "Really?" he uttered. Mikoto giggled at her youngest son. She seated him in her lap then looked at his eyes, making eye contact.

"Yes, I do and I'll always believe in you. Remember that, okay?" she said then gently touched Sasuke's nose. He nodded to her reassuringly, making sure that he would never forget his mother's promise.

XxxXxxX

He watched as unfamiliar uniformed men roamed around their house, talking to his father. Fugaku didn't seem to be listening as he was hanging his head low.

'_They're so nosy. I wish mom would make them go away,' _he thought since it was his mother who handled things whenever his father wasn't in a good mood.

Sasuke turned his head from left to right, looking at the faces of the police officers invading their house. He stood up and walked towards his father, curious of the commotion that was happening. He reached out his hand and tugged on his father's shirt.

"She was shot three times, Sir. But before that, Uchiha Mikoto was tortured, raped, and was repeatedly stabbed. She wouldn't have survived either even if she wasn't shot," the officer uttered to Fugaku. The said man gripped his hair in fury and confusion.

"W-was it….them?" he asked hesitantly. The man in front of him looked at Fugaku with concern.

"I'm afraid so, Sir," he said in a low voice. Fugaku nodded gently and gestured for the man to go ahead. The man obliged as he bowed a bit and left.

Sasuke was staring at the place where the officer was awhile ago, trying hard to absorb what he had just heard. _Shot three times…raped…wouldn't have survived…._

It was ringing in his head repeatedly. His mother, the only one he had, was never coming home. As he thought of this, he was already running towards his bedroom, crouched in one corner, crying silent tears. There was no need to do his best at things anymore; no need to make friends; no need to gain others trust and make them believe in him. It was the start of his end.

End of Flashback

XxxXxxX

Sakura walked alone towards the gates of their school, holding her books close to her chest.

'_It's been a good day, can't wait to go home. But first, I must go to my paradise,' _she said to herself, giggling at the thought. She suddenly heard the screeching sound of wheels stop beside her. Sakura turned around, smiling as she saw her savior's face.

"Hi, Sakura," he said as he took off his helmet and tossed it towards her. It almost slipped from Sakura's grip when she caught it.

"We're going to the carnival, want to come?" he asked as he patted the seat behind him. Sakura thought for a moment, it would surely be fun if she joined him, but…she would have to make up from her detention. Her eye twitched when she remembered it, _'Oooh! Damn you Uchiha!' _

"So…are you coming?" Sai asked. Sakura quickly turned to him, dazed.

"What? Oh, uhm, sorry. But I've got to do some work, you know, got to good look during the first weeks!" she uttered, grinning at her own stupidity.

Sai grinned at her as well and took the helmet from her, "Well, I guess next time wouldn't hurt, right?" he said, putting on the head gear and starting the ignition of the motorcycle. Sakura smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

"See you around," Sai said then paced off, Sakura waved goodbye to him as he exited the vicinity of their school.

'_Hmm, so cool. You really are something, Sai,' _she thought as she looked at him riding his motorcycle.

"Wait…" she whispered to herself and then looked ahead once again. "He's got a car AND a motorcycle! Geez, I couldn't even afford to buy a bicycle," she uttered incredulously as she stared at the tiny speck of black at the far end of the road with wide eyes.

When she had already gotten back to her senses, she smirked and continued her way towards the nearby woods beside a cemetery; her supposed to be paradise where she does her school work.

XxxXxxX

Sakura rubbed her eye with her left hand as she read the problem stated in her book.

"Okay, angle 1 is 750 then the other side adjacent to it is…argh! Stupid!" she hissed as she slammed the book on her lap, getting tired of solving the same problem over and over again.

She was at a branch of a huge tree. It was already dusk and the place was becoming darker. Sakura sighed and surrendered on solving the problem as she put her things on her bag. Then, Sakura raised her head and looked at the sky above her; stars were already visible. She stared at it a long time, and smiled.

"It really is peaceful here…and enchanting," she whispered softly. The night breeze blew her hair towards her face. Closing her eyes, she wondered what her friends were doing at their own houses, or at her house. Usually, her three friends would go at her house and do schoolwork, but it would usually end into a truth or dare game or movie marathon. That's when she had started doing her homework at the woods.

She grinned as she remembered it. Out of her subconscious, Sai suddenly came into her mind. She felt the cold wind touch her skin and it made her shiver. Sakura wrapped her arms around her body to warm herself, and, still with her eyes closed, pretended that it were Sai's. He was carrying her, away from trouble once again; he was her savior anyway. They were going to a far place…far…far…far away from others. And then…

"WHOA!...OUCH!" she shouted. Sakura accidentally fell from the branch and landed on the ground due to her daydreaming. She scratched the back of her head in irritation.

'_Ugh, really, can anything go any better than this,' _she thought and groaned, grabbing her bag which was clinging on the tree. She felt a stinging pain at her elbow. Touching it, she felt blood and saw that it was bruised, she winced once more in pain.

"Ugh, damn it. Stupid daydreaming, I knew it was no good, hmph," she scolded herself as she carefully stood up, straightening and dusting her uniform. Sakura was about to go ahead and leave when she had suddenly heard a grumbling sound from behind. She stopped from her tracks instantly.

"Who is it?" she uttered. No one answered. She shrugged and then continued walking but she had heard the grumbling again. This time, she felt slightly terrified and became panicky, holding the strap of her bag tighter and tighter.

"I-is somebody there?" she asked cautiously, there was no answer except for the continuous grumbling sound. Sakura felt a lump forming in her throat and swallowed, trying to earn courage to look at what was behind her. Slowly turning around, she was anticipating what she would encounter, hoping that her hunch was a mistake. The grumbling continued and it was constantly frightening Sakura.

"Oh…God," she mumbled as she was staring at a pair of yellow bright eyes.

XxxXxxX

Sasuke was walking home silently, his head lowered and his hands pocketed on his sides as usual. The night usually satisfies him since it was like his personality, dark, enigmatic, yet beyond the clouds, cold wind, and jet black sky was the moon, which was alone and just only wanted for someone to see that it exists.

He sighed as he thought of it, now, he was going to their house, but was it home? He never dared answer the question.

Out of his reverie, a sound suddenly caught his attention. He stopped, waiting for it to be heard again.

"AHHH! Help, somebody! Anybody! Ahh!" he heard. The voice was so familiar that it rang a bell in his mind.

'_Why does it seem so familiar?' _he thought.

"AHHH!"

Sasuke's eyes widened when he heard it once more. He turned towards the nearby woods with a bewildered expression, "Haruno?"

XxxXxxX

She wasn't a fast runner but despite the odds, Sakura gave her best shot since it may be her last time to give it. Wolves didn't usually come out of nowhere, especially on the woods near town. They never appeared before when Sakura would go there. But it didn't matter anymore how they got there, what matters most is how she can escape them.

Sakura's fate must have been cursed. After running for how many minutes, here she is, trapped on some place, as she sees a fence from afar, she had no way out. She slowly turned around and faced the beast which was constantly grumbling and glaring at her with its two bright, wide, yellowish eyes, its saliva dripping at the side of its mouth. She was staring at it helplessly, her back pressed against the wooden fence behind her.

"N-Nice doggy. Y-you don't want t-to hurt me, d-do you?" she whimpered as she slowly moved her pale, trembling hands forward. But as if she was being tricked, the wolf had suddenly pounced towards her, its paws ready to strike her, its sharp teeth ready to bite her skin.

That was it, her end, as easy as that. She didn't even finished high school, or college, or had a boyfriend, or said to Sai how she felt about him that he would possibly be feeling the same, too.

'_And…saying sorry to that Uchiha. Although I would think twice if I would still do it,' _she thought. Sakura was standing motionless on her place, her eyes shut tight as she waited for the pain.

Unexpectedly, instead of sharp claws or fangs wounding her, she felt strong arms wrapped around her waist and push her aside, avoiding the attack from the said animal. She felt the hard ground against her back, her savior on top of her, breathing heavily. Slowly opening her eyes, she was anticipating that it was somebody she knows, somebody she had been fantasizing for days as her knight in shining armor. But when she had already opened them, the supposed guy was already out of sight and was trying to get rid of the wolf.

She couldn't get a good look at him since he was facing the other way. He was holding a kunai in his hand then threw it towards the animal, hitting it on the middle of its body. The wolf moaned and fell down towards the ground. She watched him in awe, her eyes wide as saucers. When the boy turned around, Sakura was dumb stricken due to intense shock.

"C'mmon! What are you waiting for?" he hissed then took her hand and pulled her up, running away from the said beast. Sakura was still looking at the boy blankly. Of all people, he was the least one that she had expected to be saving her.

"Sasu—I mean, Uchiha?" she asked in a trembling voice, feeling a bit uneasy since her hand was in his. The said boy didn't answer as they continued to run.

When Sasuke heard her from the streets awhile ago, he thought twice if he should go and look at what's happening. He didn't want to be involved with her anymore, Sasuke even thought of leaving her alone and quitting. That was what he always does anyway, but something inside him bothered him so much that it made him face the odds and his own pride.

When they were already out of the woods, they sat at a nearby bench and rested for awhile. Sasuke sat at the ground, his right leg bent towards his chest while the other lay lazily on the ground. On the other hand, Sakura sat at the bench, her hands covering her face and was on the verge of crying.

"What the hell were you doing out there?" Sasuke hissed then turned to Sakura. She was obviously shocked at what happened. Turning slowly to him, she opened her mouth to answer back, "I was…" she thought of the words that she would say next, and automatically, she heard him mocking her in her mind, of what an idiot she was.

"Nothing…" she ended, turning to the other way as she was feeling uneasy in Sasuke's stare, feeling her cheeks becoming hot.

"W-what were you doing there?" she asked hesitantly and played with her fingers. Sasuke quickly turned to the other way, suddenly realizing that he was eyeing the girl in front of him unreasonably.

"None of your business," Sasuke hissed and combed his hair with his fingers.

Sakura wiped the tears from her cheeks then sharply turned to Sasuke. "Why you can't be a bit reasonable for some time, I was just asking," she mumbled and wiped her hands roughly on her skirt.

The said boy turned t her with a raised eyebrow, "Reasonable? You consider roaming in the woods alone at this time reasonable? Sheesh," Sasuke uttered in annoyance, this girl was really pissing him off. After saving her, this would what he get a headache and bruises, and not even a single thank you to be heard. Such luck.

Sakura opened her mouth to argue but suddenly stopped when she saw Sasuke's bruised arm. She looked at it with concern, "You're bleeding," she said. The onyx-eyed boy looked at Sakura, and then quickly turned to his bruised arm, he held it with his other hand and turned his back towards Sakura, "I-it's nothing" he said stubbornly with furrowed eyebrows.

Despite the said guy's hesitation, Sakura kneeled down beside him and took out her handkerchief. She then tore the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a big, bleeding cut. Sasuke looked at her in surprise, "H-hey, what are you doing?" he hissed as he moved his arm away from Sakura's grip.

"Hold still, this would just take a few seconds," she said nonchalantly and started to tie the hanky on Sasuke's wounded arm. Sasuke just looked ahead and controlled his irritation.

"There, all done," Sakura said and beamed at Sasuke. The said boy didn't even look at her. Her smile faded.

She had to admit, it was pretty stupid for her to go alone in that place, especially during this time. She was just being too close-minded; besides, Sasuke still saved her, right? And that was a bigger debt to repay than all the things she had done for him added up. The fight they're having? It was also somehow her fault; she never really gave him a chance to say the things he needed to say. Prejudice got hold of her first.

"Thanks," she said softly and stood up, sitting down on the bench once more. The said boy turned to her, obviously surprised. She's been doing odd things to him, it doesn't seem right. Shouldn't they be arguing? Throwing nasty words at each other?

"What?" he asked. Sakura gave a small smile, "I really didn't saw this coming. But I'm thankful you've come and saved me," she said sincerely without looking at him.

Sasuke nodded hesitantly, "No problem," he uttered in an unsure tone. He had no idea where would this conversation go.

"And…I'm sorry…I mean, to all the things I did, oh you know what I mean," she uttered and waved her hand dismissively, feeling embarrassed as her cheeks were turning red again.

Sasuke looked at her in amusement. The way she stuttered and blushed made him grin. But the thing that amused him the most was her innocence and humor. It was something he had seen for the first time his whole life. Sakura saw Sasuke grinning at her, she pouted.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked. Sasuke shook his head and tried to suppress his laughter. She glared at the said boy and lowered her head, biting her lower lip. Sakura wished she'd just shut up from the start.

"I should be the one saying that," Sasuke suddenly uttered, resting his head on the side of the bench and closed his eyes. Sakura looked at him, perturbed. Somehow, this person beside her made her curious, unusually curious. He was acting differently, or was it because she just didn't knew him that well.

"What?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Sasuke didn't spoke, his eyes still shut tight. Seeing that he didn't want to talk anymore, she straightened up and was about to leave. She slowly stood up and took a step.

"I'm sorry…I—was being stupid," he said softly without looking at her. When Sakura heard this, she had immediately halted. Her eyes grew wide at what Sasuke had said. Biting her lip, she spoke up weakly, "W-what do you mean?"

Sasuke stood and turned to her with his hands on his pockets.

"Should I enumerate all of them?" he said sarcastically. He saw Sakura stiffen, Sasuke smirked at her reaction. He walked towards her silently, Sakura slowly turning around to face him. She stared at the figure walking towards her who was grinning unreasonably. She lowered her head as Sasuke was just a few feet away.

Standing in front of her, Sasuke thought that his chest might explode. Not because of admiration, but because of laughter. _'What does she think I'm going to do with her?' _he thought. Then, he stretched out his left hand towards her. Sakura looked at his hand, then to Sasuke's face, clueless. He shook his head unbelievingly and uttered, "I'm calling it a truce."

Sakura stared at him, surprised. She wasn't expecting that coming. It seemed too easy.

"Are you serious?" she asked. The person in front of her grinned, and lowered his hand, "Did you enjoy all those things I did to you that you want more of it? Because if you're going to ask me, I'm already tired of it, Haruno," he sarcastically spoke with the grin not leaving his face.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but then stopped. She then remembered all the things they have fought. What was it all about, anyway? Annoyance? Misunderstanding? Irritation? Childish acts.

'_Yeah, that's it,'_ she thought.

'_And I'm already tired—no, I'm sick of it,'_ she said to herself.

She then grabbed Sasuke's hand and shook it, beaming. Sasuke was moved by her actions.

"Truce!" Sakura exclaimed as she continued shaking the said boy's hand. Sasuke didn't reply as his eye twitched all of the sudden. She looked at him in shock.

"W-What is it?" she asked and helped Sasuke out who was slowly crouching.

"M-My arm…" he moaned.

"Why? Does it hurt?"

Sasuke stared at her helplessly. "Y-you're hurting my arm," he hissed, shutting his eyes due to the pain. Sakura immediately let go of him, covering her mouth as she watched him slowly sitting down the bench. Turning to his wounded arm, Sasuke winced as he touched it and tried to straighten the hanky that was covering it.

"I-I'm sorry," Sakura apologized as she bit her lip and lowered her head in embarrassment. Sasuke smirked, "Man, your strong. Are you sure you're a girl?" he said sarcastically and watched Sakura's cheeks turn into a darker shade of red. His amusement was ended when he suddenly saw a book flying towards him. Sasuke immediately ducked the incoming object that was about to hit his face.

Sakura laughed at the sight. She waited for the said boy to straighten himself before speaking.

"C'mmon, I'll treat your wounds at my house," she announced and walked towards him. "Here, lean on me," she said. Sasuke stared at her with wide eyes, "W-what are you doing now, Amazon," he stated as he clung his arm on Sakura's back. The said girl hit him in his stomach and glared.

"Say that one more time and I'll kill you, dumb bell!" she hissed but was still helping him as they walked. The said boy just shook his head unbelievingly.

'_This one's really going to kill me,'_ he thought as he held his aching stomach with his other free hand.

XxxXxxX

Ino and Tenten were peeping at the slightly ajar door in Sakura's room.

"D'you think something happened?" asked Tenten who didn't removed her eyes from the pair inside the room. Sakura was currently mending some Sasuke's wounds on her bed. She thought it would be better if her parents wouldn't know it. They didn't like the idea of a boy staying in her room, anyway. Good thing her three friends were there to back her up.

"Something happened? Something DID happen! Why do you think they would be that nice to each other when just a few hours ago they've wanted to kill each other!?" Ino scolded her friend silently so as not to be heard by the either Sakura or Sasuke. Tenten slowly nodded in agreement.

"What do you think you two are doing there?" a soft voice uttered from behind. The two turned around quickly to see who the newcomer was. Both of them sighed in relief when they saw that it was they're white-eyed friend, Hinata. She was carrying a tray with two cups of tea on it.

"Oh, uhm…you see we were just—"

"Spying on us?" Sakura suddenly intruded. She was already standing in front of the two with a skeptical look, Sasuke also looking at them from afar curiously. Tenten stared at her with wide eyes while Ino was smiling at her in a weird manner.

"Uhm, No! Why would we do that, right Tenten?" The said girl nodded in agreement but was still tongue-tied. Sakura crossed her arms and shook her head unbelievingly, grinning at the two.

"Oh, then why were you peeping at the door when you could have just entered instead?" she asked innocently and eyed her two friends who were suddenly quiet. She winked at Hinata who was laughing quietly. Suddenly, Sasuke had gotten up and was standing beside Sakura with a bewildered look, "What's up?" he asked.

Tenten and Ino stared at him wide eyed and were gaping since he was half-naked, his shirt hanging carelessly on his shoulder. Hinata, on the other hand, looked away and coughed.

"Uhm, we were just…about to go now," Ino uttered while grinning but was still staring at Sasuke.

"Ah, yeah…uhm, see yah!" Tenten exclaimed as she pushed Ino towards the stairs, the said blond waved goodbye at Sasuke. The three just stared at the two for about a minute or so before they had noticed each other.

"Here's your tea, Sasuke," Hinata said softly as she offered a cup of the steaming liquid to him. She then gave the other cup to Sakura then went downstairs as well. Sasuke sipped the drink, it somehow replenished his strength. Then, he turned at Sakura who was blushing intensely and was looking ahead.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Sakura bit her lip and then slowly turned to him. She then looked at him from head to toe, Sasuke watching her in confusion.

"What?!" he asked. Sakura looked away and uttered, "Sasuke, kindly put your shirt on….its—cold," she stammered then immediately walked away and entered her room. Sasuke watched her walk away in amusement, _'Kindly put your shirt on.'_ He smirked as he thought of it then continued to drink his tea.

"Hn, stalker," he uttered. Sasuke then felt a pillow hit the back of his head. "Oww!" he moaned and held his nape due to the impact.

"I heard that!" Sakura exclaimed from the room. Sasuke turned around and saw a fuming Sakura. He smirked at her then looked away, sipping his tea once in awhile. After a few moments, he then felt another pillow hit him hard on the back. This time, his drink spilled and burned his hand.

"What was that for!?" he exclaimed as he looked at Sakura and wiped his hand with his shirt.

"I said put on your shirt and……….and get lost!" she exclaimed and then turned to a book she was reading. Sasuke shook his head unbelievingly, "I'm having too much wounds and bruises just by hanging out with her for about five hours, she really is something," he hissed then put on his shirt.

"I mean it! I'm holding another pillow!" Sakura shouted once more as she was starting to aim the said object towards Sasuke's back.

"Alright, I'm going, okay?! Sheesh," he exclaimed as he heavily slammed the cup in a nearby side table and walked out.

"Dumb bell!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Stalker!" the boy answered back.

Sakura held the pillow tightly and was about to throw it but he was already gone since she had heard the front door close. She stared at the door for a moment. When she had already gotten back to her senses, she loosened her grip on the pillow and lay it down on her bed slowly. It was so odd and unusual, but yet it felt good. Talking and fighting with the said boy somehow relieved her in some way. It was as if they had known each other for a long time. Sakura took a deep breath and plopped on her bed. Closing her eyes, she was thankful that the war between them had ended.

_'He isn't that bad after all'_ she thought. She remembered the first time she saw him took off his shirt, she couldn't even move back then. But today, she had thrown at least two pillows to him, which was something to be proud of. She grinned as she thought of this, wondering if the dumb bell was feeling the same way.

XxxXxxX

He was lying on his bed, unable to sleep. Her face was the only thing that he could see when he would close his eyes and it was freaking him out.

_'I'm just overwhelmed, that's all,'_ he thought and then shut his eyes and tried to sleep. It didn't work. Already annoyed, he sat up and opened his lamp. It felt really good, having someone believe and trust you even thought you barely knew him. It's as if a thorn was pulled out from his chest, he had no more to worry about. He smirked; awhile ago, he was a total loner, a stranger. But now, it was different, and he liked it.

"I guess moms really know the best," he whispered to himself, and grinned at his own statement. _'You did it again, okasan.'_

XxxXxxX

**Crystal chaser's note: **I told you I liked writing this one. Haha, maybe because it's more suiting to my age. Yup, maybe that's it. Anyway, I wished you've enjoyed reading it as I enjoyed writing. Please read and review!


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